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A VIEW 

Of THE 

subab him m§ ©» mass©wBn s 

, INCLUDING 

SOME OBSERVATIONS 

ON THE 

MINERALOGY, GEOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, 

ANTIQUITIES, SOIL, CLIMATE, POPULATION, 

AND PRODUCTIONS 

OF 

MISSOURI AND ARKANSAW, 

t X II 

OTHER SECTIONS OF THE WESTERN COUNTRY. 



ACCOMPANIED BY THREE ENGRAVINGS 



BY HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT, 

CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE LYCEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY OF 
NEW-YORK. 

NEW-YORK: 

PUBLISHED BY CHARLES WILEY fy CO. NO. 3 WAL&-STREET. 

J. Seymour, primer. 

1819, 









Southern District of New-York, ss. 

BEIT REMEMBERED, That on the twenty-seventh day of November, in tiiefony* 
fourth year of the Independence of the United States of America, HENRY ft 
SCHOOLCRAFT, of the said District, hath deposited in this Olbce the title of a Book, 
the right whereof he claims as Author, in the words following, to wit: — 

" A View of the Lead Mines of Missouri; including some observations on the Mine 
ralogy. Geology, Geography, Antiquities, Soil, Climate, Population, and Productions ol 
Missouri and Arkansaw, anii other sections of the Western Country. Accompanied by 
three Engravings. By Henry R. Schoolcraft, corresponding memberof theLyceumof 
Nitural History of New- York." 

In conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, entitled " An Act for 
the encouragement of Learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to 
the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the time therein mentioned." And 
also to an Act, entitled " an Act, supplementary to an Act, entitled an Act for the en- 
couragement of Learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the 
authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned, and ex- 
tending the benefits thereof to the arts of designing, engraving, and etching historical 
and other prints.'' 

GILBERT LIVINGSTON THOMPSON, 
Clerk of the Southern District of New-Yorl' 



f^ 
iA 






TO 

JOHN G. BOGERT, ESQ. 

MEMBER OF THE ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS ; 

OF THE 

LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL, AND OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF 

NEW-YORK ; 
RUSSIAN CONSUL FOR THE STATES OF NEW-YORK, CONNECTICUT AND 

NEW-JERSEY, fcc. 

THIS WORK IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED 

BY THE AUTHOR, 
IN TESTIMONY OF ESTEEM FOR HIS 

CHARACTER 
AS A CITIZEN, AND A FRIEND ; 

AND AS 

A TRIBUTE OF RESPECT 
FOR HIS ZEAL IN THE PROMOTION OF 

Sl&WUIBMi S(B!I12S9(B]£.S3 

ESPECIALLY 

MINERALOGY, COMVHOLOGY, 

AND THE COLLECTION OP THE 

EXTRANEOUS FOSSILS OF THE UNITED STATES 
OF AMERICA. 



PREFACE. 

When we reflect upon the history of our own country, — the 
rapidity with which its natural resources have been developed, — 
its attainments in the arts of civilized life, in commerce, and in 
agriculture, — its increase in population, and the progress of its 
settlement, the mind is with difficulty brought to believe that 
scarcely two centuries have elapsed, since it was the unmolested 
seat of barbarity, and intellectual night. But whatever may 
have been our advances in civil refinement, mechanical, and po- 
lite arts, useful inventions, public works, agriculture, jurispru- 
dence, naval architecture, the endowment of literary institutions, 
and other momentous objects, evincing a matured state of socie- 
ty, vet, in no respect is our national growth so apparent, as in 
the increased population, and the astonishing progress of the 
settlement of our country. A new world has recently been dis- 
covered within the bosom of our land, and the region west of the 
Alleghany Mountain, is already the seat of legislation, and the 
arts of civilized life. So rapid has been the emigration into that 
section of the Union, and so sudden its transformation from bar- 
barism to refinement, that it seems rather the effect of magical 
power, than of human exertions, operating in the ordinary way. 
No sooner had the fertility of the soil in that region become known, 
and the advantages it presented to the industrious and the enter- 
prising of all classes, than a universal desire for emigration was 
manifested, and information concerning it was sought after with 
the utmost avidity. But the first travellers who passed down 
the valley of the Mississippi, did little more than glance at the 
varied and extensive country, bordering that stream. A general 
outline of its geographical features, — of its soil and climate, — of 
its extent and resources was, however, given, with many interest- 
ing particulars concerning its antiquities, and physical produc- 
tions ; but the detail has been left as the subject of succeeding 
inquiry and remark. Much of the information published at an 
early day, being founded on an imperfect acquaintance with the 
country, has proved fallacious, other facts of moment have since 
been disclosed by the progress of settlement, and notwithstanding 
the appearance of several works of merit concerning that country, 
a wide field is still left tor observation and research, both to the 



man of business, and the man of science, and an increased desire 
is manifested for further information. The period has in fact 
already arrived, when men begin to seek for scientific and ele- 
mentary information on the various subjects connected with the 
vegetable, animal, and mineral resources of that country, — with 
its soil and climate — its streams and mountains — its towns 
and settlements — its mines and minerals — its trees and plants — 
its antiquities and reliqua — its birds — fishes — insects — rep- 
tiles — animals, living and extinct — the fossils imbedded in the 
earth — the physical constitution of its rocks and soils, and the 
changes which they have undergone from heat, air, water, light, 
attrition, and other constantly operating and powerful causes — 
the temperature of the atmosphere — the. course of the winds — 
the diseases prevalent — its natural phenomenon, and other mat- 
ters, equally concerning the learned, and the unlearned. On 
some of these heads, we are already in the possession of much 
valuable information ; on many of them nothing has been written, 
and all present subjects for consideration, replete with the high- 
est interest, and intimately connected with the wants, comforts, 
happiness, and security of ourselves and our posterity. The 
soil, climate, population, and agricultural advantages of the wes- 
tern country, have been the subject of frequent description, and 
several meritorious works have been published concerning it. 
Jefferson, Volney, Breckenridge, Darby, and Evans, have succes- 
sively added to our stock of useful knowledge, and contributed 
largely to perfect and extend the sphere of our acquaintance with 
the moral, physical, and political condition of that country, par- 
ticularly with regard to its topography, statistics, antiquities, 
and commercial resources. But its mineralogy remains almost 
wholly unuoticed, and we look in vain, either for a general out- 
line of its mineralogical character, or a description of its mines. 
Travellers seem to have hastened with so eager a pace, in the ex- 
ploration of its fertile fields and extensive prairies, and to have 
been so completely absorbed in the contemplation of its bold 
geographical outlines, and the interminable length of its rivers, 
that they have entirely overlooked the humble, but not less at- 
tractive minerals, by which it is so strongly characterized. The 
mines of Missouri, especially, have failed to attract the considera- 
tion which they merit.— Breckenridge has, indeed, given us 
some interesting details on the subject ; but the value of what he 
has written, is not uniform ; much of the information given, is 



vague or hypothetical, and upon the whole, he stops short of the 
desired point. Schultz wrote nothing- of value on the subject. 
Austin's pamphlet was the most valuable document of its time, 
but being- written for a specific purpose, is not sufficiently diffuse 
in regard to the situation and extent of the mines, method of 
working, &c. Stoddart, too much inclined to credulity, did not 
always write from personal observation, and many of his conclu- 
sions are drawn from assumed premises. We are, therefore, still 
in want of a detailed account of the mines, the extent and quali- 
ty of the ore, the character of the accompanying minerals, the 
methods of mining, the nature of the contiguous country, its 
character, value, population, and resources, its advantages for 
water-mills and manufactories, thp facilities it affords by its 
streams for internal navigation, with other facts necessary in es- 
timating the collective value and importance of those mines. A 
want of information is also felt in regard to the physical history 
of the western country, particularly its minerals, fossils, geology, 
antiquities, &c. To supply this deficiency, I have written the 
following work, in which I have endeavoured to present a con- 
densed body of facts in a small compass, and in a plain way, 
omitting the introduction of technical phraseology, in all instan- 
ces where it was consistent with the utility or perspicuity of de- 
scription. 

What I have written on these subjects, is the result of personal 
observation, during a tour through the states and territories west 
of the Alleghany Mountains, performed in the years 1818 and 
1819, including a year's residence in Missouri Territory. In 
passing down the valley of the Mississippi, I embraced every op- 
portunity to acquire a knowledge of the mineralogical character 
of the country, and have been enabled to form a considerable 
collection of ores, spars, fossils, &c. illustrative of its physical 
geography, and natural resourses. A catalogue of these will be 
found in the ensuing pages. To acquire information on the sub- 
ject of the mines, I visited them, and fixed my residence there. 
I have made a personal examination of every mine of consequence, 
with a view to ascertain its general character and value, and its 
peculiarities. I have travelled on foot over the whole mine coun- 
try, exploring its minerals, its geological structure, its geographi- 
cal position, soil, climate, productions, towns, streams, settlements, 
and whatever else appeared to me to be necessary to describe. 



explain, and illustrate the subject before me. If, therefore, I have 
failed to collect a body of facts worthy public approbation, it can 
neither be attributed to a want of industry, or a want of oppor- 
tunity. 

The historical facts recorded respecting' Renault's operations, 
have never before appeared in print. They were elicited in the 
course of a legal investigation, recently instituted between the 
heirs at law of Renault and sundry individuals, who claimed the 
lands in xYTissouri and Illinois, granted to him, A, D. 1723, in 
consideration of his services. During these inquiries, many facts 
hitherto unknown respecting the early history of Louisiana, were 
brought to light ; and some new matter has been drawn from the 
obscurity of private life, both in France and America, which 
completely developes the views, and transactions of that day. Of 
this information, I have been presented with an opportunity to 
avail myself, through the friendship and politeness of those per- 
sons, in whose possession the original papers, documents, and 
certificates remain. 

The drawings I give of the lead furnaces, are from actual 
measurement, done under the eye, and corrected by an operative 
builder of approved skill at Potosi, and are conceived to be mi- 
nutely correct. 

Henry R. .Schoolcraft. 

New-York, 25th Nov. 1819, 



CONTENTS. 



PART FIRST. 

A View of the Lead Mines of Missouri, 

page 

Sec. 1. Historical Sketch of the Mines, 9 

Sec. 2. General Outline of the Mine Country, 26 

Sec. 3. Of the different Mines, Ores, and accompany- 
ing Minerals, C4 

Sec. 4. Method of working the Mines, 90 

Sec. 5. Annual Produce, and number of Men employed, ..113 
Sec. 6. On the uses of Lead, -. 131 



PART SECOND. 

Observations on the Mineralogy, Geology, Geography, Sfc. of 
the Western Country. 

page 
Art. 1. Geographical Outline of Missouri Territory, ... .151 
Art. 2. A Catalogue of the Minerals of the Western 

Country, 177 

\rt. 3. Journal of a Voyage up the Mississippi River, ... .221 

Art. 4. Topographical account of White River, 246 

Art. 5. Miscellaneous Information, 258 



PART I. 

A VIEW OF THE LEAD MINES OF MISSOURI. 

SECTION I. 

Historical Sketch of the Jllines. 

The rage for adventures, which the brilliant ex- 
ploits of Pizarro, Cortez, and other Spanish ad- 
venturers, had excited throughout Europe, conti- 
nued for a long time to agitate the public mind ; 
and had not abated at the commencement of the 
eighteenth century, Avhen an idea of the mineral 
riches of Louisiana had become prevalent. Gold 
and silver were then the chief objects which en- 
grossed attention ; and in search of them, the ear- 
liest discoverers were led to penetrate into the in- 
terior. The physical aspect of the country was 
in general such as to flatter the most sanguine ex- 
pectations of mineral wealth ; and the further 
the country became known, the more interest- 
ing was found its mineralogical character. To 
men whose pre-conceived ideas of a country 
were already high, such appearances must have 
had the most inspiriting effect, and lightened the 
embarrassments they encountered in exploring a 
wilderness. Many of the useful metals were thus 
met with, and gold and silver mines were reported 
to have been discovered in several places. Red 

2 



10 

River, the Arkansaw, and the river La Platte of the 
Missouri, were particularly mentioned; and from 
the evidence which is daily afforded by the disco- 
very of ancient furnaces, &c. there is reason to 
conclude that those metals were wrought at a very 
early period, and that bodies of the ore still exist. 
Judging from what was found, they were ready to 
conclude the country exhaustless in mines ; and 
the most exaggerated accounts of them appear to 
have been transmitted to Europe, particularly to 
France, where a lively interest was felt in the 
prosperity of the infant colonies in Louisiana and 
Illinois; and in the descriptions published at that 
day, the lands are reputed to equal in fertility the 
banks of the Nile, and the mountains to vie with 
the wealth of Peru. 

It was in this supposition of the immense wealth 
of Louisiana, both in the vegetable and mineral 
kingdoms, that the renowned Mississippi scheme 
originated, and which, from the imposing charac- 
ter it was made to assume under the guidance and 
direction of M. Law, drew upon it the eyes, not 
only of France, but of all Europe, and produced 
one of the most memorable disappointments re- 
corded in the annals of commercial specula- 
tion. 

Louis XIV, by letters patent, bearing date Sep- 
tember 1 4th, A.D. 1712, granted to Anthony Crozat, 
Counsellor of State, Secretary of the Household, 
&c. the exclusive privilege of commerce of thai 
district of country, now known as the States of 
Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Illinois, 
and the Territories of Missouri and Arkansaw. 



11 

with the propriety of the mines and minerals he 
should discover in the country, reserving the fifth 
part of all bullion of gold and silver, and the one- 
tenth of the produce of all other mines. The ex- 
clusive privilege of commerce was granted for a 
term of fifteen years; but the propriety of the 
mines was conveyed in perpetuity to him and his 
heirs, on the condition that such mines and mine- 
rals should revert back to the crown of France, 
whenever the working of them was discontinued 
for three years together. The bounds of Louisi- 
ana, as granted to Crozat, are described in these 
words: — " Bounded by New Mexico, (on the west,) 
and by the lands of the English of Carolina, (on the 
east,) includingallthe establishments, ports, havens, 
rivers, and principally the port and haven of the 
Isle of Dauphine, heretofore called Massaere ; the 
river of St. Louis, heretofore called Mississippi, 
from the edge of the sea as far as the Illinois, to- 
gether with the river of St. Philip, heretofore call- 
ed Ouabache, (Wabash,) with all the countries, 
territories, lakes within land, and the rivers which 
fall directly or indirectly into that part of the river 
of St. Louis." 

In the month of August, A. D. 1717, M. Crozat 
solicited permission to retrocede to the crown his 
privilege of the exclusive commerce and the 
mines of Louisiana, which was granted by an ar- 
ret of the Council of State, during the minority of 
Louis XV. In the same month, letters patent 
were granted by the Council of the Regency to an 
association of individuals at Paris, under the name 
ef The Company of the West, by which they were 



12 

invested with the exclusive privilege of the com- 
merce of Louisiana, and the working of the mines, 
to the same extent as it was enjoyed under the 
grant ofCrozat. These letterspatent were dated on 
the 23d of August, A. D. 1717, registered 6th Sep- 
tember, of the same year, and were to be in force 
on the 1st of January, 1718, and to continue for a 
period of 25 years. By them, not only such grants 
and privileges were conveyed as had previously 
been enjoyed by Crozat, but they were invested 
with additional powers, rights, and privileges. 
The territory was granted in free allodium, (en 
franc allien^) in lordship and in justice, the crown 
reserving; to itself no other rights or duties but 
those of fealty and liege homage, which the Com- 
pany was required to pay to the King, and to his 
successors at each mutation of kings, with a crown 
of gold of the weight of thirty marks. The boun- 
daries were the same as described in the grant to 
Crozat, and the mines and mining grounds, opened 
or discovered during the term of its privilege, were 
declared to belong to the Company incommuta- 
bly, without being holden to pay any rents or pro- 
ceeds whatever. The Company was also in- 
vested with the right to sell and alienate the lands 
of its concession, at whatever price or rents they 
might fix, and even to grant them en franc allieu, 
without reserving the rights of justice or lordship. 
It was also provided that if, after the expiration of 
25 years, for which the exclusive privilege of com- 
merce Avas granted, the King should not see proper 
to continue the privilege by a new grant, all the 
lands and islands, mines,and mining grounds, which 



13 

The Company of" the West should have inhabited, 
worked, improved, or disposed of on rent, or any 
valuable consideration whatever, should remain to 
it for ever in fee simple, to use and dispose of as a 
proper inheritance, on the simple condition, that 
the Company should never sell such lands to any 
other than the subjects of France. 

A Company, incorporated with such ample 
rights and privileges, did not fail to draw upon it 
the attention of the speculative, or to enlist the aid 
of the enterprising capitalists of the French me- 
tropolis. The country of the Illinois was reput- 
ed rich beyond comparison : the financial esti- 
mates submitted to the view of the public, offered 
prospects of unusual gain, and capitalists tlocked 
with avidity from all quarters, to enrol themselves 
as members of the Company, and partake of the 
promised wealth. If any thing had been wanting 
to accelerate the pace of adventurers, or to fan the 
ardour of hope, it was the genius, the financial 
abilities, and the commanding influence of M. Law, 
who was placed at the head of the Company, and 
was the moving power in every transaction. Men 
have been nearly alike in all ages. The Grecians 
are characterized for manly integrity and submis- 
sion to the laws ; the Romans are renowned for 
for their bravery in war and their refinements in 
the arts of civilized life ; the English for their ac- 
quirements in science and literature ; the Ameri- 
cans for the equality of their laws : but in matters 
of interest, they are all alike, and when money is 
the object of pursuit, we forget every local dis- 
tinction of language and country, in the similarity 



14 

of sentiment which actuates them, their hopes of 
success, ami the uniform means which are taken to 
acquire a similar object. Nor do men always, 
when a scheme of sudden wealth or aggrandize- 
ment is presented, duly consider the chances of 
success, in opposition to the probabilities of a fail- 
ure. Hence it is no subject for surprise, that the 
most extravagant anticipations were entertained 
by the members of The Company of the West, or 
that the unusual splendour of the Mississippi 
scheme was only equalled by the signal disap- 
pointment in which it eventuated. 

In the year after The Company of the West had 
been instituted by the royal patent of the King, 
they formed an establishment in the country of the 
Illinois at Fort Chartres ; and in order to promote 
the objects of their institution, and to encourage 
the settlement of the country, held out the most li- 
beral inducements to French emigrants, and made 
them donations of all lands which they should cul- 
tivate or improve. Miners and mechanics were 
also encouraged to emigrate, and the city of New- 
Orleans, which had been founded during the last 
year of the authority of Crozat, (1717,) received a 
considerable accession to its population in the fall 
of the same year, and settlements began to extend 
along the banks of the Mississippi, and in the 
country of the Illinois. Among the number of ad- 
venturers to Illinois, was Philip Francis Renault, 
(the son of Philip Renault, a noted iron-founder at 
Consobre, near to Mauberge, in France,) who 
came over as the agent of the Company of St. Phi- 
lips, an association of individuals which had been 



15 

formed under the patronage of the western com- 
pany, for prosecuting the mining business in the 
upper country of Louisiana and Illinois. It ap- 
pears also that he was a member of the Company 
of the West, and he is spoken of as Director General 
of the JMines of the Royal India Company in Illinois ; 
a name by which not only the present state of 
Illinois, but a vast district of the adjoining country, 
appears then to have been known. 

Renault left France in the year 1719, with two 
hundred artificers and miners, provided with tools, 
and whatever else was necessary for carrying the 
objects of the company into effect. In his passage 
he touched at the Island of St. Domingo, and pur- 
chased five hundred slaves for working the mines; 
and entering the Mississippi pursued his voyage 
up that river to New Orleans, which he reached 
some time in the year 1720, and soon afterwards 
proceeded on his way to Kaskaskia, in Illinois. 
Kaskaskia was then inhabited solely by the 
French, and was one of the earliest posts occupied 
by them when they began to extend their posts 
from Canada along the great western Lakes, and 
down the Ohio and Mississippi. Renault esta- 
blished himself in the vicinity of this town, near 
Fort Chartres, at a spot which he named St. Phi! 
lips, (now called the Little Village?) and from this 
sent out his mining and exploring parties into va- 
rious sections of Illinois and Louisiana. These 
parties were either headed by himself, or M. La 
Motte, an agent versed in the knowledge of mine- 
rals, whom he had brought over with him. In 
«ne of the earliest of these excursions La Motto 



It) 

discovered the lead mines on St. Francis, which 
bear his name ; and at a subsequent period Re- 
nault made a discovery of those extensive mines 
north of Potosi, which continue to be called after 
the discoverer. Other mines of lead were also 
found, but their distinctive appellations have not 
survived; and a proof of the diligence with which 
Renault prosecuted the object, is furnished by the 
number and extent of the old diggings which are 
now found in various parts of the country. These 
diggings are scattered over the whole mine coun- 
try, and hardly a season passes, in which some 
antique works, overgrown with brush and trees, 
are not found. 

Renault being probably disappointed in the 
high expectations he had formed of finding gold 
and silver, turned his whole force towards the 
smelting of lead, and there is reason to conclude, 
that very great quantities were made. It was con- 
veyed from the interior on pack-horses, (the only 
mode of transportation which was practicable at 
that early period.) The lead made by Renault 
was sent to New Orleans, and from thence chiefly 
shipped for France. That he also discovered 
copper is beyond a doubt, and a grant of land 
made to him at Old Piora, on the Illinois river, 
embraces a Coppermine. 

Renault's operations were, however, retarded 
and checked, from a quarter were it was least 
expected. By an edict of the king, made at ParU 
in May, 1719, the Company of the West was united 
to the East India and Chinese company, under the 
title of the Company Royal of the Indies ; (Lo, 



17 

Compagnie Royalc dcs Indies.) And in 1731, the whole 
territory was retroceded to the crown of France, 
the objects of the company having totally failed ; 
and Renault was left in America, without the 
means of prosecuting the mining business. His 
exertions in behalf of the company were not, how- 
ever, overlooked by the government, and four 
several grants of land were made to him in con- 
sideration of his services. These grants bear date 
June 14th, A. D. 1723, and cover the Mine La 
Motte, and some other very valuable tracts, which, 
after having laid dormant for a period of about 
sixty years, have recently been claimed by the re- 
presentatives of his heirs at law. 

Renault, however, remained in Illinois several 
years after the explosion of the Mississippi scheme, 
and did not return to his native country until 
A. D. 1742. With him the greater part of his 
workmen returned; the slaves were sold, and the 
mining business fell into neglect. Here is a pe- 
riod to the first attempt at mining in Louisiana. 

After Renault's departure, little or nothing ap- 
pears to have been done in the way of mining, and 
even after the Spanish had acquired possession of 
the country*, the lead mines were but little attend- 
ed to. The force which Renault had with him 
was sufficient to protect him from the attacks of 
the savages ; but after his departure, the settle- 
ments on the Mississippi, feeble in themselves, 
could not furnish protection to such as might be 



* Louisiana was ceded to Spain by Fiance A. D. 1762, and taken posses 
lion of by Spain, 1769. 



18 

disposed to work at the mines. The Spanish, 
however, in a few years after taking possession of 
the country, did something, and in process of time 
new discoveries were made, and the mining busi- 
ness began to assume a more respectable charac- 
ter. The principal discovery made under the 
Spanish authority was, Mine a Burton, which takes 
its name from a person of the name of Burton*, 
who being out on a hunt in that quarter, found the 
ore lying on the surface of the ground. This man. 
who is now still living in the vicinity of St. Gene- 
vieve, at the advanced age of one hundred and 
nine years, had been employed while a youth 
under Renault. The period of this discovery it 
would be very difficult now to ascertain, Burton 



* The following sketch of the life of Burton is given by Colonel Thomas 
II. Benton, of St. Louis. "He is a Frenchman, from the north of Fiance. 
In the forepart of the last century, he served in the low countries under the 
orders of Marschal Saxe. He was at Fontenoy when the duke of Cum- 
berland was beat there by that Marschal. He was at the seigc of Bergen- 
op-Zoo7n, and assisted in the assault of that place when it was assailed by a 
division of Marschal Saxe's army, under the command of Count Lowendahl. 
He has also seen service upon the continent. He was at the building of 
Fort Chart] es on the American bottom, afterwards went to Fort Du Quesne. 
(now Pittsburgh) and was present at Braddock's defeat. From the life of a 
soldier, Burton passed to that of a hunter, and in this character, about half 
a century ago, while pursuing a bear to the west of the Mississippi, he dis- 
covered the rich lead mines which have borne his name ever since. His pre- 
sent age cannot be ascertained. He was certainly an old soldier at Fort 
Chartrcs, when some of the people of the present day were little children at 
that place. The most moderate computation will make him an hundred 
and six. He now lives in the family of Mr. Micheaux at the little rock ferry, 
three miles above St. Genevieve, and walks to that village almost every Sun- 
day to attend mass. He is what we call a square built nnn, of five feel 
eight inches high, full chest and forehead ; his sense of seeing and hear- 
ing somewhat impaired, but free from disease, and appaiently able to hold 
out against time for many years to come. 1 ' [St. Loxiis Enquirer, October 
16, 1818.] 



19 

himself being unable to fix it. It has been knowii 
about forty years. ( 1 8 1 9.) 

The processes of mining pursued under the 
Spanish government, appear to have been very 
rude and imperfect, not more than fifty per cent, 
of lead being got from the ore. The common 
Open Log Furnace was the only one employed, and 
the lead-ashes were thrown by as useless. Neither 
was shot, or any other manufacture of it, attempted 
by native Spaniards. 

In A. D. 1797, Moses Austin, Esq. performed a 
journey from the lead mines in Weythe County, 
Virginia, to the Mine a Burton, in Louisiana, and 
obtained a grant of land of one league square, 
from the Spanish authorities, in consideration of 
erecting a reverberatory furnace, and other works, 
for prosecuting the mining business at those mines. 
This he commenced A. D. 1798, and previous to 
that time no furnace for smelting the ashes of lead, 
made in the Log Furnace, had been erected. Mr. 
Austin sunk the first regular shaft for raising the 
ore, and introduced some other improvements 
which were found beneficial. 

He also, A. D. 1799, erected a shot tower, under 
the superintendance of Mr. Elias Bates, and pa- 
tent shot of an approved quality were made. A 
manufactory of sheet lead was completed during 
the same year, and the Spanish arsenals at New- 
Orleans, and Havanna. drew a considerable part 
of the supplies for their navy from this source. 

About this time a few other American families 
crossed over into Louisiana territory, and settled 
in the neighbourhood of the mines. These, from 



20 

their more enlightened views, and enterprising spi- 
rit, were certainly an acquisition to the mining in- 
terest, and as their earliest attention was directed 
to this, the lead business began to revive ; and at 
the time the territory was taken possession of by 
the United States, were pretty extensively and ad- 
vantageously worked*. The Mine a Robino, Mine 
a Martin, and many others were shortly afterwards 
discovered; and since the year 1804, the number 
of mines has been astonishingly multiplied; Shib- 
boleth, JVeiv Diggings, Lcbaum's, and Bryan's mines, 
are among the latest discoveries of consequence. 

The lead mines did not fail to attract the ear- 
liest attention of the American government, and 
immediately after the occupation of the territory 
by General Wilkinson, measures were taken to 
ascertain the situation and extent of the mines; 
the method of working them; with their annual 
produce, and such other information as was neces- 
sary in forming an idea of their importance. 
Several laws have since been enacted on the sub- 
ject, and a reservation made of all discoveries 
upon public lands. 

The emigration to Louisiana, which had par- 
tially commenced under the Spanish govern- 
ment, took a more decided character after the 



* The following is a list of the principal mines worked under the Spanish 
overnment: 

Mines. Si I nation. 

Mine La Motte, ... Head of St. Francis River. 

Mine a Joe, on Flat, River. 

Mine a Burton, ... on a branch of Mineral Fork. 

Old Miner, .... do. do. 

Renault's Mines, ... on Mineral Fork, or Fouche Arno. 



2i 

Session of the country to the United States ; but has 
been particularly great within the last few years. 

In 1812 that part of Louisiana bordering on the 
Gulph of Mexico, including New-Orleans, and ex- 
tending up the Mississippi to the 33° of north la- 
titude, was erected into a state under the name of 
Louisiana, and the remainder formed into a Ter- 
ritorial Government by the name of Missouri. 
There is a petition now before Congress (Feb. 
1819) for the admission of Missouri into the Union 
on a footing with the original states. By this pe- 
tition it is contemplated that White River will form 
the southern boundary, and the country between 
that and the northern line of Louisiana, including 
our claims on the Spanish, will be erected into a 
Territorial Government under the the name of Ar- 
kansaw*. 

Respecting die present state of the lead mines, 
it is only necessary here to add, that they are work- 
ed in a more improved manner than at any for- 
mer period; that they are more extensive than 
when the country came into the hands of the 
United States, and of course giving employment to 
a greater number of miners, while every season is 
adding to the number of mines; and that the ores 
may be considered of the richest kind. Every day 
is developing to us the vast resources of this coun- 
try in minerals, and particularly in lead ; and we 
cannot resist the belief that in riches and extent, 
the mines of Missouri are paralleled by no other 

* A law creeling the Territory of Arkansaw from the southern part of 
Missouri, lias since past, but its northern boundary is extended so as to in- 
clude all White River, arid the principal part of Lawrence county. 



22 

mineral district in the world. In the working of 
the mines — in raising the ore, and smelting it, — 
and in the establishment of the different manufac- 
tures dependent upon it, there is much to be done. 
Though the processes now pursued are greatly 
superior to those in use under the French and 
Spanish governments, there is still ample room for 
improvement. The earth has not yet been pene- 
trated over 80 feet ! we know not what may be 
found in the lower strata of the soil. There is 
reason to believe that the main bodies of ore have 
not yet been hit upon, that they lie deeper, and that 
we have thus far only been engaged upon the spurs 
and detached masses. There is also reason to 
believe that large bodies of the ores of Zinc, exist 
in the district of the mines; and that Copper will 
be afforded by the lower strata of earth. It is 
found overlaid by lead ores in many of the Euro- 
pean mines, and the geognostic character of the 
country leads us to conclude it may also be found 
here. 

The want of capitalists in the mine country — of 
scientific knowledge in those by whom mining i* 
conducted, and of practical skill in the boring, 
blasting, sinking shafts, and galleries, draining and 
ventilating — these oppose obstacles to the success- 
ful progress of mining. There is but one regular 
hearth furnace for smelting in the whole district, 
and that is not on the modern plan of English fur- 
naces. There are not over four or five regulai 
shafts out of about 40 mines, — there is not an en- 
gine either by horse, steam, or water power, for 
removing water from the mines, several of which 



23 

have been abandoned on this account with the 
richest prospects of ore in view. In fine, there is 
little of that system, skill, industry, and precaution, 
which characterize the best conducted European 
mines, and which, by an application of the most re- 
cent discoveries in mechanics, chymistry and philo- 
sophy, render them the admiration of every intelli- 
gent visiter. By and by, it may attract the atten- 
tion of some mining capitalists of Great Britain and 
other parts, and such a circumstance would form a 
new era in the history of the mining operations of 
this country. Something also remains to be done 
by the government, the existing laws are inade- 
quate to the purposes for which they were enacted. 
That feature restricting leases to three years is in- 
judicious ; the period is so short that it deters those 
whoare most able, from engaging in it at all. Itisalso 
desirable that such a system should be established, 
as would enable us to get at the annual produce 
of the mines, number of hands employed, and such 
other facts as are necessary in forming a series of 
statistical tables on the subject. The want of such 
data has hitherto prevented us from setting a true 
value upon the mines, and of properly estimating 
their importance in a national point of view. The 
acquisition of a scientific knowledge of minerals 
should also be facilitated by the establishment of 
a seminary in this quarter. There should be a 
mineralogical school located in the mine country, 
where students might be instructed in that useful 
science. In a country so rich in minerals and fos- 
sils, and whose wealth will always so much depend 
upon a proper deveiopement of these resources. 



24 

the knowledge of minerals should be laid open to 
every one. and it should be within the reach of such 
as do not wish, or cannot get the other branches 
of a liberal education. To obtain this knowledge 
now, even were there a prevelent taste for it, a 
person would be compelled to travel to remote 
parts of the union, and to incur an unreasonable 
expense. No one who is conversant with the ad- 
vantages which various parts of Germany, and par- 
ticularly Saxony, has derived from such a seminary, 
will deny the utility of a similar one in the United 
States ; and as to its location there can be no ques- 
tion, for, compared with any other section of the 
union, this will be found the land of ores — the country 
of minerals. 

Yet with all the disadvantages under which the 
lead mines have been viewed, and others which it 
would be superfluous to detail, there are many 
who may be surprised to find their annual pro- 
ducts (from the best information) stated at three 
millions of pounds : and from this some idea may be 
formed of their vast riches and extent, and, when 
they come to be properly and regularly worked, 
how greatly they will contribute towards our 
wealth and independence. 



25 

The following are the principal Historical Epochs of 
Louisiana, chronologically arranged. 

Discovered by Ferdinand de Soto, and 

named Florida, A. D. 1539 

Visited by the French from Canada „ 1674 

Settlement made by La Salle „ 1683 

A settlement made at Bolixi „ 1699 
Granted to Crozat by Louis XIV. 14th 

Sept. „ 1712 

New-Orleans founded by the French „ 1717 

Retroceded to the crown by Crozat „ „ 

Granted to the Company of the West „ „ 

Retroceded by the Company of the West „ 1731 

Ceded to Spain by France „ 1762 

First occupied by the Spanish „ 1769 

Ceded to the United States „ 1803 

Taken possession of by the U. S. 20 Dec. „ „ 

Louisiana became a State, August „ 1812 

Missouri Territory erected, 4th June „ I8i2 

Territory of Arkansaw erected, March „ 1819 



26 

SECTION II. 

General Outline of the Mine Country. 

The district of country which is characterized 
by affording lead ore, and formerly known as the 
lead mines of Louisiana, comprises the present coun- 
ties of Washington, St. Genevieve, Jefferson, and 
Madison : Missouri Territory. It extends in length 
from the head waters of the St. Francis, in a north- 
west direction, to the Merrimack, a distance of 
70 miles ; and in breadth from the Mississippi in a 
southwest direction to the Fourche a Courtois, a 
distance of about 45 miles, and covering an area of 
3150 square miles. 

This tract is generally characterized by yield- 
ing lead ores, and is the seat of such mines as now 
are, or have formerly been wrought. It is not on 
every particular section of it that the existence of 
lead is to be traced, nor is the mineral character 
of the soil, rocks, and other earthy and stony 
bodies uniformly preserved. And, on the contra- 
ry, there is no considerable tract, on which ore isr 
not to be found. The general aspect of the coun- 
try is sterile, though not mountainous : the lands 
lie rolling, like a body of water in gentle agitation. 
In some places the hills rise into abrupt cliffs, where 
the great rock formations of the country may be 
seen ; in others, they run into level plains : a kind 
of highland prairie. The soil is a reddish coloured 
clay, stiff and hard, and full of fragments of flinty 
stone, quartz, and gravel: this extends to the 



27 

depth of from 10 to 20 feet, and is bottomed on 
limestone rock. It is so compact in some places 
as almost to resist the pickaxe ; in others, it 
seems to partake of marl, is less gravelly, and 
readily penetrated. The country is particularly 
characterized by quartz, which is strewed in de- 
tached pieces over the surface of the ground, and 
is also found imbedded in the soil at ail depths. 
This is here called blossom of lead. Iron ores, and 
pyrites are also scattered over the surface of the 
ground, and occasionally lead ore. Such is the 
general character of the mineral hills, which are 
invariably covered by a stinted growth of oaks, 
and what are here denominated post oaks. They 
are seldom found to grow higher than 30 feet, and 
40 is the highest, seldom exceed a foot in diameter, 
and stand scattering. In some places walnut is 
found; and there is a ridge of yellow pine running 
the whole extent of the mine tract, from the St. 
Francis to the Merrimack, but it is not more than 
six or eight miles wide, and no discovery of lead 
has been made upon it, — at least, no quantity has 
been found. The mines lie generally cast of it. 
This ridge of pine traverses the country in a gener- 
al course from S. E. to N. W. a fact which may 
also be observed in regard to the veins of lead, 
viewed in connexion with each other, and as they 
are to be traced from mine to mine. The hills 
also yield sassafras, and the slopes which are rich- 
er soil, afford buckeye, black walnut, papaw, and 
percimmon, and some other trees, shrubs, and wild 
fruits; and the whole is covered in summer by a 
luxuriant growth of grass, even the poorest hills,- 



28 

which hides the flinty aspect of the country, and 
gives it a very pleasing and picturesque appearance. 
The vallies have always a stratum of alluvial 
soil, which is more or less deep, according to their 
extent, but there are few which are not adapted 
for cultivation, and the bottoms on the streams, and 
lowland prairies, consist of several strata of black 
alluvial earth, affording some of the richest farm- 
ing lands in the western country. The strong 
quality of the soil is shown in the heavy growth of 
trees with which it is covered. The principal of 
these are sycamore, elm, cotton wood, onks wal- 
nut, maple, buckeye, hackberry, ash, papaw, per- 
cimmon, spicewood. mulberry, sassafras* and .. *- 
wood. A rank growth of vines and shrubs also 
overruns the bottom land ; and in no other coun- 
try is there to be found so great a variety and 
abundance of wild fruits; of these, the following 
is a catalogue : 

Grape, Hackberry, 

Red plumb, Hazlenut, 

Percimmon, Strawberry, 

Cherry, Blackberry, 

Black haws, Whortleberry, 

Thornberry, Crab apple, 

Walnut, Gooseberry, 

Mulberry, Papaw. 

These are generally to be found in all parts of 
the country, and where they occur are abundant. 
The grape, in particular, which is of a delicious 
kind, abounds every where. It is very common 
about the mines, as may be observed at Mined 
Burton, old mines, and Shibboleth. 



29 

The soil thrown out of the pits sunk in search 
of ore, also produces several plants and trees which 
are not peculiar to the surface. Such are the pop- 
lar, or cotton wood, and beach grape, which are only 
found to flourish on the rich alluvial lands compo- 
sing the hanks of rivers. Nevertheless, I have seen 
these growing about the mouths of long neglected 
pits, the soil of which had been raised thirty or 
forty feet, and where, previous to digging, no such 
trees or vines existed. This fact is to be referred 
only to a difference in the quality of the soil at the 
depth alluded to, and warrants us further in the 
conclusion, that all soils are impregnated with the 
seeds of the trees and plants peculiar to them, as 
well at great depths as on their surfaces, and that 
they only require exposure to the sun, the air, and 
the light, to enable them to vegetate. 

Respecting the botanical character of the min- 
eral soil, it may be further observed, that although 
it yields but few forest trees, and they are not of a 
vigorous growth, yet a botanist might find his la- 
bours well rewarded by the profusion of shrubs 
and wild flowers which are every where found on 
the barrens. Some of these possess a singular 
beauty and fragrance, and 1 have particularly no- 
ticed a fine leaved plant, which is highly sensitive. 
It shrinks from the touch: it bears a very fragrant 
red flower in summer, and its stem is thorny. It 
has been called the sensitive brier. There are also 
some plants from which colours have been extract- 
ed for dyeing ; such are peterswort crab-apple, 
shumac, upland dock, and smartweed, and a skill- 
ful botanist would probably discover many more. 



30 

The savages are in possession of some secrets in 
dyeing, the discovery of which is matter of moment. 
They dye a very beautiful and permanent red from 
some vegetable which is the production of this 
country. And the subject assumes a character of 
national importance, when we consider the im- 
mense sums we are annually paying to foreign na- 
tions for dyeing ingredients. Do not the western 
woods afford some substitutes ? 

The district of the lead mines is well watered, 
affording in all parts innumerable springs and 
rivulets of the most pure and wholesome water ; 
and as the lands are high and airy, it is found one 
of the most healthy parts of the territory. Epi- 
demics are unknown. Those diseases which 
prevail more or less every summer on the Ameri- 
can bottom, and other rich and level tracts of Illi- 
nois, Ohio, and Indiana, have not found their way 
into the interior of Missouri, where there is no stag- 
nant water, — no repositories for mud and slime, 
brought down by the annual floods, as is the case 
on the immediate banks of the Mississippi, Ohio, 
and other great western rivers, — and no pestilen- 
tial airs from decaying vegetable, and drying ponds. 
The fever and ague is a very rare thing at the mines. 
Billious complaints are the most common, but they 
are not fatal. During a residence of ten months 
at the mines, I have not witnessed a single death, 
or heard of any happening in the country. At the 
same time, the margin of the Mississippi, on both 
sides, has been the scene of frequent deaths, and, 
during the summer months, of almost continued 
disease. There are, however, some losses annu* 



ally sustained by the inhabitants of the mine tract, 
from the death of cattle, who die of the mine sick- 
ness. Cows and horses are frequently seen to die 
without any apparent cause. Cats and dogs are 
taken with violent tits, which never fail in a short 
time, to kill them. This has been accounted for, by 
supposing that they inhale the sulphur which is so 
abundantly driven off in smelting lead, and cattle 
are often seen licking about old furnaces. It is 
more probable that it arises from the sulphate of 
barytes, which accompanies the lead ore. This 
Consists of the sulphuric acid united to barytes — • 
a poison to animals. The mine sickness is wholly 
confined to quadrupeds. 

The Merrimack and St. Francis are streams of 
the mine country, the former washing its north- 
western boundary, and deriving much of its water 
from it, and the latter, originating in broken lands 
ten or fifteen miles south of Mine a Burton. Big 
River, Terre Bleau, Mineral Fork, Fourche a 
Courtois, and Indian Creek, are also considerable 
streams. Of a lesser size, are Flat River, Mine, 
Cedar, Wolf, Rock, Apple, Saline, Platten and 
Joachim Creeks, the four last falling into the Mis- 
sissippi successively as you ascend the river from 
Cape Girardeau to St. Louis. These streams, with 
their tributary waters, afford farming lands of an 
excellent quality, both bottoms and uplands, and 
present a pleasing contrast to the sterile mineral 
hills on which they border. Indeed, in no other 
part of the western country is there to be found 
so remarkable a contrast, for the traveller is alter- 
nately presented with poor flinty hills, rich alluvial 



bottoms, barren plains, towering cliffs, and level 
prairies, all mixed in a very novel and surprising 
manner,and affording some of the most picturesque 
scenes of rural beauty. The traveller, after' he has 
viewed the rich uplands of Ohio — the heavy forests 
of Indiana — the woodless barrens of Kentucky — 
the craggy cliffs of Tennessee — and the unbounded 
prairies of Illinois, has still something to desire, for 
he may see them all together in one dciy's ride in 
the interior of Missouri. The whole country, after 
you cross the Mississppi, seems to have been pro- 
jected on a different scale, the very rock forma- 
tions are different, and the masses of granite, quartz, 
and green stone porphyry met with, attest its claims 
to antiquity. The western bank of the Mississippi 
from the head of Tyawapaty Bottom to St. Louis, 
is, with some exceptions, an almost perpendicular 
wall of limestone from one hundred to two hun- 
dred feet high, and affording in many places, some 
of the sublimest views of nature. The Grand Tow- 
er, Dormant Wall, Hanging Dog, and ' ornice Rock, 
may be mentioned as instances of this. At this 
height the mineral soil commences, still rising by 
imperceptible degrees as you advance into the inte- 
rior, and the whole Missouri shore seems to be suf- 
ficiently elevated to have served as a barrier to an 
ocean, which may have rested on the ground now 
occupied by the states of i ^inois, Indiana, Kentucky, 
and Ohio. These are manifestly countries of newer 
formation, bearing innumerable marks of submer- 
sion, in the impressions of shells and animals found 
in their rocks, in the remains of animal bones, and 
in various other evidences, which a geologist 



33 

would consider conclusive of secondary forma* 
lion. 

The Lead mines are situated between the 37th 
and 38th degree of north latitude, and between 
the 89th and 92d degree of west longitude. 
The climate is mild and pleasant. It is not so 
hot as the same latitudes in Kentucky and Vir- 
ginia. The last summer, (1818,) was considered 
unusually warm, yet I experienced no inconvenient 
ces from the heat, although from a country situ- 
ated six degrees further north. The heat was 
manifestly great, but a gentle breeze was almost 
constantly stirring ; and the uneven surface of the 
country is favourable for keeping up a current in 
the atmosphere. The fall was pleasant and serene, 
and the weather continued mild, until about the 
middle of December, when cold and disagreeable 
weather commenced, which continued nearly a 
month ; during which, we had some flurries of 
snow, and it fell at one time three inches deep ; 
the atmosphere then resumed its usual serenity, 
and continued about the temperature of April 
weather in New- York, until the middle of Febru- 
ary, when chilly winds, slight snow flurries, and 
rains and sun-shine alternately characterized the 
days for a month more, and the spring opened, 
giving us a serene sky and mild warm weather. 
The weather is, however, subject to very sudden 
changes; a circumstance that will induce an emi- 
grant to exclaim on the great heat one day. 
and on the great cold the next. The old people 
have very kw signs by which they can foretel 
the weather. 



34 

The climate is well adapted for the raising of 
corn and wheat, which are the staple articles of 
the Missouri farmer. Rye also succeeds, but is 
not much cultivated. Oats, peas, turnips, flax and 
hemp do very well, but there is little of either 
raised. Irish potatoes, do not succeed well ; the 
sweet, or Carolina potatoe was raised last year in 
considerable perfection. The soil and climate is 
well adapted to the culture of tobacco, and this is 
an article which is just beginning to excite universal 
attention. There will be a considerable quantity 
raised the ensuing summer in the county of Wash- 
ington, and the country is said to be as well adapt- 
ed to it, as Kentucky. 

The farmer here encloses no meadows — cuts no 
hay. — The luxuriant growth of grass in the woods 
affords ample range tor his cattle and horses, and 
they are constantly kept fat. Hogs also are suf- 
ferred to run at large, and in the fall are killed 
from the woods ; I have seen no fatter pork than 
what has been killed in this way. There is, per- 
haps, no country in the world, where cattle and 
hogs can be raised with so little trouble and ex- 
pense as here ; and this is an advantage this coun- 
try possesses which is likely to be permanent ; 
for the country will never admit of a dense po- 
pulation : (I allude particularly to the mine coun- 
try:) here and there will be an excellent planta- 
tion, and the intermediate lands being too barren 
for cultivation, will never be taken up, but still 
afford a range for hogs and cattle. In Illinois, 
Indiana, and other parts, where such advantages 
now exist, they will shortly be curtailed, for the 



35 

lands being, generally speaking, all good, will be 
bought up, and every fanner confined to the 
limits of his own farm. The same advantage also 
renders the country particularly worthy of the at- 
tention of the shepherd. There is no country better 
adapted to the raising and keeping of large flocks 
of sheep, who would find excellent pasturage in 
the prairies and woods, and only require a hand 
to drive them to fresh pastures during the day, and 
guard them from wolves by night. Hay to feed 
them during the winter, might be cut any where 
in the post oak woods and prairies, and their wool 
would always bring a good price in the market ; 
for the country affords every facility by its streams 
for erecting manufactories of cloth on an extensive 
scale. There are kw sheep at present raised in 
the country ; wool, and woollen goods of all sorts, 
are high and scarce, and I consider the subject 
worthy of the particular attention of the Missouri 
farmer. Horses are raised in considerable num- 
bers by the inhabitants generally, and with little 
labour. They subsist themselves in the woods, 
both summer and winter, nothing more being re- 
quired than to look after them, to see that no beils 
are lost, that they are duly salted, and that they do 
not go astray. They may be considered among 
the exports of the country, considerable droves 
being annually driven off to Kentucky, Red River, 
and other parts. It is to be observed, however, 
that a proper attention is not paid to improving 
the breeds, and though there are some elegant 
horses, the generality have a mixture of wild horse ; 



36 

they are small, thick-set, and low priced. A good 
horse of this kind is sold for thirty dollars. 

Respecting the wild quadrupeds in this part of 
the country, it may be observed, that they are an- 
nually decreasing, both in number and kind, and 
hunting is every year becoming less an object. 
Those, therefore, who are attached to this kind of 
life, are almost imperceptibly withdrawing further 
into the woods. The principal hunting ground 
near this is White River, some account of which 
will be given at the end of this work. The deer is 
still frequently met with in the mineral woods, and 
from the great body of waste lands, will probably 
long keep possession of them. The Beaver has 
been driven off. This shy animal is the first to 
abandon a country on the approach of men. He 
is generally succeeded by the Otter, who, from the 
natural enmity between them, is never found to 
inhabit the same stream. 

The following is a list of such animals as ar* 
still to be met with : 



Deer, 


Otter, 


Bear, 


Muskrat, 


Wolf, 


Racoon, 


Fox, 


Opossum, 


Wild-cat, 


Rabbit, 


Panther, 


Pole-cat, 


Hedgehog, 


Fox-squirrel, 


Weasel, 


Grey-squirrel, 


Mink, 


Red-squirrel, 


Gohar, 


Mole. 



Of birds there is an endless variety. The wild 
turkey is still very common on the bottom lands,, 



37 

and during the heat of the day in the open post 
oak woods. The wild goose, duck, brant, and 
swan, are to be found on the streams. The peli- 
can is occasionally seen on coming up the Mis- 
sissippi, but never ventures into the interior. The 
prairie hen is common, so are quails and pigeons ; 
the latter, in some parts of the interior, are so nu- 
merous that the woods seem alive with them. Of 
singing birds there is a numerous tribe ; some of 
them are strangers to me, and there is a great pro- 
portion whose colours are beautiful, and who sing 
sweetly. I think an ornithologist would find this 
a very interesting field. The parakeet is a beauti- 
ful bird ; it is a kind of parrot ; its colours are 
green, yellow, and red, all bright colours, and it is 
a pleasing sight to see a flock of them suddenly 
wheel in the atmosphere, and light upon a tree ; 
their gaudy colours are reflected in the sun with 
{he brilliance of the rainbow : they are a noisy 
bird, but their notes are disagreeable. This bird 
is first met with on descending the Ohio, about the 
falls, after which they become plenty ; are con- 
stantly to be seen on the Kentucky or Indiana 
shore, and add to the delight a traveller feels in 
descending that beautiful river. Of birds of prey, 
the eagle, the turkey buzzard, and the raven, may 
be noticed ; but I forbear to increase the cata- 
logue, for the subject is exhaustless, and to do it 
justice would require a greater limit than I pro- 
pose to allow myself in this entire view. The 
mineral productions of this country are very nu- 
merous and interesting ; for a catalogue of them 
see the miscellaneous part of this work. 



38 

The agricultural character of the mine country, 
although poor in the general estimate, is far less 
so than mining countries generally are ; and viewed 
in detail presents a great deal of the most valuable 
farming lands. A spirit of husbandry is now ge- 
nerally prevalent; this has been yearly increasing 
since the United States acquired possession of the 
country, but has been particularly visible within 
the last 5 years. Farms are better tilled, and 
both the theory and practice of agriculture better 
understood than formerly. This is chiefly attri- 
butable to the emigration, which, within the last 
few years, has flown in so rapidly. Among the 
number has been several men of wealth and in- 
telligence — practical farmers from the old states, 
who, at the same time that they have disseminated 
the principles of agriculture, have increased the 
respectability of the farming class, and taught 
them to appreciate, in a proper light, the farming 
interest. Perhaps, during this period, the mining 
business has been less attended to than formerly, 
and it would appear as if the increase of the one 
has kept pace with the decline of the other, but 
perhaps they both flourish best together. 

Washington County, which is the richest in lead 
ore of all the mineral counties, and at the same 
time contains a great proportion of good farming 
land, now produces, over and above all home con- 
sumption, a considerable quantity of grain for dis- 
tillation and for flouring; and beef and pork for 
foreign markets ; — yet, there is a period in the 
history of the mining operations of this county, 



39 

when its annual produce did not equal its annual 
consumption. 

With the advances in agriculture, a correspond- 
ent improvement has been effected in the manners 
and morals of the people. A large proportion of 
those formerly engaged in mining were persons of 
the most abandoned character, refugees from jus- 
tice in the old States ; and the mines were a con- 
tinued scene of riot and disorder, and many atroci- 
ties were committed. Many of those persons have 
fled, others have been restrained from evil prac- 
tices by the influence and example of virtuous and 
intelligent men, and it is but justice to the inhabi- 
tants of the mines to observe, that in morals and 
manners they are surpassed by no other district 
in the Territory. It would be difficult to point 
out a town or village west of the Mississippi where 
there is a greater attention to industry, morality, 
and religion, than at Mine a Burton. There are 
many of the refinements, and even elegancies of 
life ; and in the courtesy and hospitality of the 
gentlemen, and the dress, conversation, and de- 
portment of the ladies, a proof is afforded of the 
great improvement which a few years has effected 
in society. 

There are but few Spaniards remaining in the 
district of the mines, or in the Missouri Territory ; 
they generally withdrew on the occupation of the 
country by the United States. The French con- 
stitute a considerable proportion of the whole 
population, and it is but repeating a common ob- 
servation to say, that in morality and intelligence 
*hey are far inferior to the American population, 



40 

The French are uniformly members of the Roman 
Catholic church. The religion most prevalent in 
other parts of the community is Methodism ; the 
Baptists are next in number, and the late emigra- 
tions have brought in several Presbyterians, who 
are daily acquiring an accession of strength; and 
a few Episcopalians. There are but few regular 
buildings for public worship, and of those few I 
am unable to mention a single piece of respectable 
architecture. Worship is generally performed in 
private houses, and buildings erected for county or 
other public purposes ; but considering the infan- 
cy of the settlements, perhaps more could not be 
expected. The benefits of common schooling are 
but partially felt, there is no system of school 
education. This is a business left to individual 
exertion and patronage. I believe there is no 
considerable settlement without a school, at least 
a part of the year. 

Slavery was introduced into this Territory at a 
very early period, and previous to the occupation 
of the country by the United States. There are a 
considerable number at present ; nearly every 
good plantation, and many of the mines being 
wrought by them. This observation has no allu- 
sion to the settlements on the Missouri at Boon's 
Lick, St. Charles, and other places, where emigra- 
tions are flowing in very rapidly, where there are 
many New England farmers who are averse to 
slavery in principle, and where indeed it is under- 
stood that slaves have been but partially intro- 
duced. This is a subject which excites some in- 
ferest here at the present moment, when a petition 



41 

is lying before Congress for the admission of Mis- 
souri into the Union, and some fears are entertain- 
ed that a Legislative restriction, with regard to 
slavery, may be introduced into the organic Law. 
Without inquiring into the constitutionality of such 
a restriction, it may here be observed, that from 
the temper of the people, it may be concluded that 
it is a privilege which will be hardly relinquished. 
It is not to a country like this, that we are to 
look for internal improvements ; it has been too 
recently the empire of savage ferocity, to admit 
of the amassment of superfluous wealth. There 
are few able to contribute great sums towards the 
construction of permanent roads, bridges, and 
canals. The subject is, however, kept in view; 
there are many who see with pleasure what other 
States are doing in this way, and the jYew-York 
Canal is a subject of frequent conversation among 
the intelligent part of the community. They are 
in the expectation of ultimately deriving a benefit 
from it, and anticipate with solicitude the con- 
nexion of Lake Michigan with the Illinois River, 
by which a water communication will be formed 
between Missouri and the city of New-York, by 
way of Detroit, Buffalo, and Utica. The river Plein, 
the main head fork of Illinois, approaches so near 
the head of Chicago River, which enters Lake 
Michigan at Fort Dearborn, that a communication 
exists in high water. I conversed with a trader 
last summer at St. Louis, who had come through 
in the spring, and afterwards saw his boat lying at 
the wharf. It carried from 4 to 6 tons, and was 
built skiff- fashion, with a flat bottom. He repre- 

6 



42 

scniecl the undertaking as easy of execution, not 
requiring an artificial cut of more than 2 miles, 
and this through an alluvial soil. The roads 
through the mine tract are generally good, the 
mineral soil is well adapted for a road, and little 
labour is required to keep it in repair. When 
heavy and long continued rains have softened the 
ground, and the roads become gullied, such is the 
open nature of the woods, that the waggoner may 
drive aside, and pursue his way with very little 
inconvenience. From this circumstance the main 
roads from Herculaneum and St. Genevieve to the 
mines, have assumed a surprising width. A wag- 
gon loaded with lead, (and these are the principal 
ones who make use of the road) is particularly in- 
jurious in cutting up a road. On passing over a 
stick or stone it never rebounds, it is a dead fall, 
and it generally sinks to the strata of gravel. 
There are few bridges ; that over the Joachim near 
Herculaneum, is a substantial wooden bridge. 
Ferries are kept at St. Genevieve, fjerculaneum, 
Merrimack, Vetepush, St. Francis, and other 
places. 

The culture of fruit trees, has not received a 
general attention in this country, if we except the 
Peach tree, which is found on almost every farm, 
and succeeds very well. The apple tree does 
very well where it has been tried, and some ex- 
periments also show the soil and climate adapted 
for Quince, Plum, and Cherry. 

The country is also represented as adapted to 
the growth of Indigo. A gentleman of Bellevieu 
f Mr. Hutchins) raised this plant last summer in 



43 

great perfection. Madder, as is said, also suc- 
ceeds. That useful vine, the Hop, grows spon- 
taneously on the bottom lands, and is to be seen 
in great abundance, in the proper season, on the 
banks of the Flatten, Apple Creek, and other 
places. 

The manufactures of the Mine country, in addi- 
tion to its grand staple, Lead, are not numerous. 
There are 3 shot towers, a like number of tan- 
yards, several flouring mills, and distilleries, and 
a few saw mills, where pine and oak boards and 
plank are made. There are several saltpetre 
caves worked, 1 powder mill, and pretty exten- 
sive salt works on Saline creek, St. Genevieve 
county. There are also 2 other salt works in 
Jefferson county, but they are on a smaller scale. 
Some tow cloth is made in families, and also cot- 
ton cloth for summer wear, and a carding machine 
and fulling and clothiers' works, have lately been 
erected on Big River. 

The exports of Missouri Territory may be set 
down as follows : 

Pig and Bar Lead, Horses, 
Shot, of all sizes, Beef, 

Whiskey, Pork, 

Flour, Dried Venison, 

Wheat, Deer Skins, 

Corn, Furs and Peltries, 

Hemp, Butter, 

Flax, Pecans. 

Tow Cloth, 
When its resources are properly drawn forth, 
the list will be greatly augmented, and a few years 



44 

will add the following articles, some exportation 
of which have already taken place : 
Iron, Nitre, 

Zinc, Salt, 

Manganese, Marble, 

Sulphur, Emery, 

Arsenic, Red Chalk, 

Antimony, Pumice, 

Oil Stones, Soap Stone, 

Alum, Gypsum, 

Chalk, Serpentine, 

Plumbago. Tobacco, 

Flints, Hops. 

Commerce is now carried on chiefly with the 
cities of New-Orleans, Philadelphia, New- York, 
and Pittsburgh. The lead is taken down the 
Mississippi in boats to New-Orleans, and there 
either sold, or shipped to Philadelphia or New- 
York. The dry goods with which this country 
is supplied are principally purchased at Philadel- 
phia, and waggoned across the Alleghany moun- 
tains to Pittsburg, and thence taken down the Ohio 
and up the Mississippi in boats. The groceries 
are principally purchased at New-Orleans, and 
brought up in boats. Steam Boats have lately 
engrossed this business, and should the) continue 
to multiply at the rate now indicated, will in a few 
years throw keel boats and barges entirely out of 
the question.* Cutlery, glass ware, nails, red and 
white lead, castings, rope, paper, carpenters' and 



* A list of Steam boats on the Mississippi and its tributary streams, will 
be found in the miscellaneous part of this work. 



4* 

blacksmiths' tools, plough irons, and innumerable 
other works in brass, iron, and copper, are brought 
from Pittsburgh. Drugs, medicines, and dye 
stuffs, and sometimes dry goods, particularly for 
the Indian trade, are chiefly laid in at New-York, 
and thence shipped to New-Orleans. This trade 
has probably increased within late years. 

The principal towns in the district of the Lead 
mines are, St. Genevieve, Herculaneum, Potosi. 
and Mine a Burton, and St. Michael. Some ac- 
count may be given of each of these. 

St. Genevieve is situated on the west bank of the 
Mississippi, 120 miles above the mouth of the 
Ohio, and 60 miles below St. Louis. The town, 
consisting of about 300 houses, including a Roman 
Catholic chapel, lies a mile from the landing at the 
mouth of the Gabbarie, and on ground which is 
handsomely elevated. Immediately below the 
town commences the great field, one of the richest 
tracts of bottom lands on the Mississippi. It ex- 
tends five miles along the banks of the river, and 
is still held in common. This town was originally 
settled by the French from Kaskaskia,and although 
a considerable part of the inhabitants are now 
Americans, the French character still predomi- 
nates. This is particularly observable in their 
amusements, dress, morals, and religion. St. 
Genevieve is one of the principal lead markets, 
and before the settlement of Herculaneum, all the 
lead made at the mines was shipped from this 
place. It is situated 30 miles below Herculaneum, 
is 45 miles distant from Potosi, 30 from mine La 
Motte, and about the same distance from Bryan's 



46 

mines and mine a Joe. Kaskaskia, the present 
seat of government for Illinois, is situated 7 miles 
from St. Genevieve, on the opposite side of the 
river. 

Herculaneum, lies on a high bank of the Missis- 
sippi at the mouth of Joachim creek, and at equal 
distances from St. Genevieve and St. Louis. This 
town has been selected as the seat of justice for 
the new county of Jefferson, and being commo- 
diously situated for business, and several miles 
nearer to the mines, is thought to possess advan- 
tages on that account. The town now consists of 
between 30 and 40 houses, including a court-house 
and jail, 4 stores, a post office, and school. There 
is also a commodious warehouse for storing lead 
and merchandise, kept by Elias Bates, and the 
town enjoys a considerable share of the lead trade, 
which has increased within a few years. In the 
vicinity of the town are 3 shot towers, where shot 
is made by letting it fall down the banks of the 
Mississippi, which here consist of high bluffs of 
limestone rock. The scites chosen for these 
towers is where the top of the rock overhangs the 
bottom a little. On this a building is erected, and 
other works prepared for smelting and casting the 
lead, and they are dropped through copper sieves 
into a receptacle with water below, where there is 
another building, and the operation of polishing is 
performed. For a detailed account of the pro- 
cesses of making shot as practised here, see sec- 
tion VI. on the uses of lead. 

The following statement, of lead exported from 
Herculaneum, from December 31st, 1816, to June. 



4 



1818, a period of 18 months, places its advantages 
in a handsome light. It is copied from ah official 
paper published by the proprietors of the town. 

2,008,404 lbs. of Pig and bar lead, 
deposited at, and exported from 
Elias Bates' warehouse $ 100,420.00 

517,495 lbs. of lead, deposited with 
and shipped by sundry other per- 
sons 25,874.75 

668,350 lbs. of Patent shot, manu- 
factured by Elias Bates, and C. 
Wilt 46,784.50 

5,500 barrels of Flour, manufac- 
tured by J. Horine, A. Van Zandt, 
and J. Bryan 41,250.00 

44,924 gallons of Whiskey, manu- 
factured by Horine, Van Zandt, 
and Bryan 32,192.62,! 

500 bushels of Wheat, shipped for 

N. Orleans 500.00 

400 barrels of Beef and Pork 5,000.00 

40,000 wt. of Bacon 4,000.00 

66,000 feet of Pine boards, from 

Washington County 2,640.00 

214,000 ft. of Oak boards and scant- 
ling 64,200.00 

60,000 lbs. of Gunpowder, manu- 
factured by Ashley & Brown, 
Washington County 3(,.000.O:j 

$352,861.87,! 



48 

There are, within 4 miles of Herculaneum, 2 
saw mills, 2 grist mills, 3 distilleries, and a tan 
yard, where considerable quantities of leather are 
made. It is situated 36 miles from Mine a Burton, 
30 from mine Shibboleth, 25 from Bryan's mines, 
and 25 from Richwood's. 

Potosi, and Mine a Burton, form one connected 
village, which may altogether consist of 80 build- 
ings, including a court house, jail, and academy. 
When the County of Washington was erected by 
a division of St. Genevieve, a tract of land of 40 
acres was laid off for the county seat, and named 
Potosi. This lies on a handsome eminence a 
little north of the principal mines, and separated 
only from mine a Burton by the mine creek. 
This village is pleasantly situated in the centre 
of the mining district, and surrounded also by 
several fine bodies of lands. It is built in a bet- 
ter style than the villages in the country generally, 
has a neat and thriving appearance, and contains 
several handsome edifices. Among these are the 
seat of M. Austin, Esq. and the court house, a 
building erected at an expense of $7000, and 
decorated with columns of the Doric order. It 
has 3 stores, 2 distilleries, (one by steam) 2 flour 
mills, 9 lead furnaces, 1 saw mill, and a post 
office, where a mail from St. Genevieve and St. 
Louis is received once a week, one from Arkan- 
saw once a month, and one from Boon's Lick on 
the Missouri, once a fortnight. It is 65 miles dis- 
tant from St. Louis, 45 from St. Genevieve, 36 
from Herculaneum, and 45 from St. Michael. It 
lies in the centre of about 40 lead mines, all situ- 



49 

aied within a circle of 20 miles. The quantity of 
lead made at Mine a Burton has been very great. 
Jn a report made by Mr. Austin to the commis- 
sioner of the general land office, in 1816, the fol- 
lowing estimate of the quantity of lead made, is 
given : 

From 1793 to 1804, 360,000 lbs. per ann 2,160,000 

1804 1808,800,000 3,200,000 

1808 1816,500,000 4,000,000 

Total amount for 18 years 9,360,000 

See the perspective view of this village facing 
the title page. 

St. Michael is situated on a plain on Village 
Creek, which falls into the river St. Francis a mile 
below. It is an old French village, of about fifty 
houses, including several stores, and a post office ; 
andlies in the centre of the richest farming district in 
Madison county. The seat of justice for the coun- 
ty, has lately been fixed on rising grounds, about six 
hundred yards south of the village, and a town laid 
out there called Fredericktown. Several emigrants 
have lately located themselves in St. Michael, and 
since the county seat has been fixed in its vicini- 
ty, it has assumed a thriving appearance. The 
Mine La Motte lies two miles north of the village. 

New-Bourbon, Caledonia, and Madansburgh, are 
also towns of the mine tract, but they are at pre- 
sent small. The last two have lately been laid 
out, and bid fair to have a rapid increase. 

Having now taken a general survey of the Mine 
country, there are a few remarks which may be 
made on the counties separately. 

7 



50 

$/. Genevieve County. The mineral productione 
of this county are lead and salt. Bryan's mines, 
and IViine a Joe, are the most noted. Salt is made 
on Saline Creek, a stream winch falls inio the 
Mississippi eight or nine miles below the great 
field of St. Genevieve. The works are at a village 
called Madansburgh, and are on a respectable 
scale ; and much of the salt consumed in the in- 
terior, is the produce of these works. The springs 
are considered lasting, and the water strongly im- 
pregnated, and preparations are now in forward- 
ness to enlarge and improve the works. 

There is a large white body of silicious sand in the 
interior of this county, and which, from examina- 
tion, I think adapted for the manufacture of flint 
glass. It lies eight miles on the road to Potosi, 
where it is found in a cave of unexplored extent. 
The sand is in the aggregated form, i. e. sand 
stone ; is very white, easily crushed between the 
fingers, and falls into a very fine, even-grained, 
transparent, quartzose sand. It appears to me, 
from external character, to possess the property 
of easy fusibility, one of the most desirable quali- 
ties in glass-sand ; and from an acquaintance with 
the subject, I am led to conclude, that it will prove 
a very valuable material in the manufacture. 

One of the most noted bodies of farming land 
in St. Genevieve county, is Bois Brula Bottom, ex- 
tending for near twenty miles on the margin of the 
Mississippi. This bottom is covered with the 
heaviest growth of trees, shrubs and vines, such 
as are peculiar to the richest Ohio bottoms. The 
settlements on it, are considerable, and daily in- 



Si 

Creasing, and it yields in perfection most of the 
productions which have already been mentioned 
as the produce of the mine country, particularly 
corn, which attains an almost incredible height, 
and yields a heavy crop. 

The principal farming tracts in the interior, 
are Murphy's Settlement, and Cook's Settlement, both 
extending along the main road that leads from 
St. Louis to Arkansaw and Red River. At Mur- 
phy's Settlement there is a post office. This coun- 
ty sends five members to the territorial legislature. 

Washington County. This county, although the 
seat of the principal lead mines, is at the same 
time not deficient in farming land. Bellevue, 
Stout's settlement, Richwoods, and Old mines, may 
be mentioned as instances of this. The southern 
banks of the Merrimack, Big River, and Fourche 
a Courtois, also yield handsome tracts of the most 
fertile bottom lands. The lands in Bellevue, are 
particularly noted for their fertility, beauty, and 
extent, and the population in this township is nu- 
merous, and very rapidly increasing. Caledonia 
is in this township, where several buildings are 
now going up, and among them, a house for pub- 
lic worship. Stout's settlement, lies south of this, 
on the tributary waters of the St. Francis, and is 
represented as a body of choice land. O . the 
Fourche a Courtois there are a number of planta- 
tions, and the lands will admit of many more. A 
tract of bottom land now in the possession of the 
Delaware and Shawnee Indians, is often noticed 
for its beauty and fertility. Big River, in its 
whole course, which is long and devious, and al- 



52 

most completely subtends the north, east, and south 
boundaries of Washington county, affords the finest 
of farming lands. Such are the principal farming 
tracts of this county, which although detached, 
with ridges of poor land intervening ; yet taken 
in the aggregate, bear a respectable proportion to 
its whole number of square miles, and exalt its ag- 
ricultural character above that of the other mining 
counties, St. Genevieve excepted. 

The traveller can no where go into Washington 
county, keeping the main roads, without passing 
over some of the most sterile soil in it. For the 
sake of getting good roads, they have been carried 
along the tops of the most sterile flinty ridges, 
running in the required direction, and when one 
deviated too far, it has been left, and another as- 
cended. This is the character of the country ; it 
lies rolling, and is in no places better instanced, 
than in the great roads from St. Genevieve and 
Herculaneum to the mines. The traveller riding 
along these, is so impressed with the almost un- 
varied barrenness of the county, that by the time 
he reaches Potosi, he is ready to exclaim against 
it, and without stopping to inquire into its particu- 
lar advantages, rides back with the most unfavour- 
able impressions. From such causes it has gene- 
rally been underrated by former tourists and 
travellers, who may have had but a few moments 
to spare, and even improved those by making 
inquiries of the most illiterate part of community. 
A man who merely rides through a country, can- 
not be expected to publish much valuable infor- 
mation concerning it. The inquiry of a moment. 



33 

the surmises of ingenuity, and the probability of 
things, can never atone for sound statistical in- 
formation, practical remarks, and acknowledged 
facts. It is necessary to enter into details, before 
We can arrive at a general result — to establish 
small facts in order to render larger ones certain — 
to view in detached bodies, as well as collectively, 
and indeed before we can pretend to decide on 
the character of a country to collect, compare, 
and contrast all its advantages and all its disad- 
vantages ; and this cannot be done in a moment. 
A man may have a glimpse, and not a view — he 
may see, and yet not understand — he may believe, 
and yet be mistaken. It is from these facts, and 
knowing how deep first impressions, however er- 
roneous, sink, that I have been induced to hint at 
the superficial accounts of preceding tourists ; and 
however exceptionable the remark may be in a 
general sense, it applies forcibly in a particular 
one. I allude to some works on the western coun- 
try now generally read at the eastward — to some 
who are even referred to as text books — to la 
bours of mercenary pamphleteers, and catch-penny 
printers, where we are served up with surmises 
instead of facts, with bloated descriptions instead 
of simple accounts; and the authors of which, 
in many instances, know not the countries they 
describe, and have neither admired the beauties, 
or shrunk at the deformities, which they picture. 

In adverting to the agricultural character of this 
county, its advantages for raising cattle, sheep, 
horses, and hogs, may claim particular attention, 
The growth of prairie grass in the open post oak 



54 

woods and prairies, is of the most luxuriant kind, 
and stock may be raised at a trilling expense. 
The barrens are also covered with a profusion of 
wild fruits, (grapes particularly) and wild flowers, 
and in the fall there is abundance of acorns, on 
which hogs fatten. Its mineral productions, in 
addition to lead, are zinc, iron, ochre, red chalk, 
saltpetre, sulphur, alum, and salt. There is in the 
township of Bellevue a salt lick called Chicago, 
where some attempts have been made to find salt, 
but the rock was only penetrated about 10 feet, 
and quite brackish water found at that depth. 
The lick is on public land, and as no one will run 
the risk of losing his labour, it remains unex- 
plored ; little doubt, however, can exist, that salt 
water would be found at no great depth. There is 
also in Bellevue a very extensive Buffalo Lick^ 
called Bates' Lick, (being partly on a tract of land 
owned by Moses Bates) which covers about 12 
acres of ground, and is in some places 10 or 12 feet 
deep. Strong indications of salt have been found 
at this place. 

Bellevue abounds in granite and iron ore, par- 
ticularly on its southern boundary, which is the 
poorest part of it ; and on Cedar creek, which is a 
fork of Big River. A piece of antimony was found 
in this part of the township several years ago, but 
no body of it has yet been brought to light. There 
is a singular cave where alum is procured near 
McCormick's. 

The iron of Bellevue is a subject of universal 
notoriety. In the richness of the ore, and extent 
of the beds or mines, it is no where paralleled. 



The most noted place is called the Iron Mountain, 
where the ore is piled in such enormous masses 
as to constitute the entire southern extremity of a 
lofty ridge, which is elevated 5 or 600 ieet above 
the plain. Immediately at its base commences a 
tract of the richest bottom lands, through which a 
stream called Chartier Creek meanders, and pass- 
ing round the western side of the mountain, falls 
into Cedar Creek a few miles below. A seat for 
working the ore is situated about 7 miles to the 
N. W. on Cedar Creek, and another sufficient to 
drive any number of forges 8 miles distant on Big 
River. Within 2 miles from this, on a small creek, 
there is a sufficient fall and plenty of water for 
establishing an extensive foundery. 

The iron mountain is claimed under a conces- 
sion to Col. Valley, the last Spanish commandant 
at St. Genevieve, but has not been confirmed by 
the American government, and some doubts are 
entertained whether it will. 

Respecting the quality of the ore, it may be 
added, that it is probably of the richest kind, and 
such as is well adapted for the manufacture of 
bar iron. It is very heavy and brilliant, and is of 
that kind denominated micaceous oxyd of iron, in 
mineralogy. Mr. Miller, an iron-master of Au- 
gusta county, Virginia, on visiting this place last 
fall, thought the ore of an excellent quality, and 
seemed absorbed in astonishment by the immensi- 
ty of the body. The ore has been tried by Maj. 
J. Hawkins of Potosi : it ran easily in a slag fur- 
nace, and without any flux ; and Mr. Robert C. 
Bruffey, an intelligent mechanic of the same place. 



56 

has experimented upon the iron obtained from 
the ore, by heating, hammering, hardening, &c. 
He found it very malleable, and easily worked, 
and considers it iron of the best quality. 

There is another remarkable body of iron ore, 
in Stout's settlement, 5 miles west of the Iron 
Mountain, scarcely inferior to it either in the ex- 
tent or riches of ore. It has also a seat for water 
works near it. Several other beds exist in the 
same neighbourhood, but none equal to the sur- 
prising bodies already mentioned. 

Ores of zinc are found at several of the lead 
mines in Washington; the principal bodies are at 
Mine Renault, and Elliott's mines. It is also fre- 
quently met with at the numerous diggings on the 
mineral fork. I have some specimens from Brushy- 
run, and New Diggings, both within 2 miles of 
Potosi. It is also occasionally met with in small 
bodies, at several other mines in this county ; and 
considering the rarity of this metal in America, 
and its extensive usefulness, which is yearly in- 
creasing, I have no doubt it will shortly attract 
the attention of some capitalist, and become a 
source of much profit. The ore generally accom- 
panies the lead ; is of that kind called Blende by 
mineralogists, and is the sidphuret of Zinc of chemis- 
try. 

In addition to the amount of lead annually made 
in Washington county, there is a considerable 
quantity of flour, whiskey, and other articles ma- 
nufactured. The following is a list of the differ- 



57 

ent mines and manufactories now established, 
(Feb. 1819.) 

38 Lead Mines, 
34 Lead Furnaces, 
16 Grist Mills, 
8 Saw Mills, 
10 Distilleries, (one by steam) 
3 Salt petre caves, (worked) 
1 Powder Mill, 
1 Alum cave, (not worked) 
6 principal Iron Mines, (not worked) 
1 Tan yard. 
Washington sends 4 members to the Legisla- 
ture. 

Madison County. This is a small county lately 
erected from a division of St. Genevieve and Cape 
Girardeau, and forming the southern limits of the 
mine tract. Its mineral products are lead, iron, 
granite, and Plumbago. There is but one lead 
mine in the county ; it is mine La Motte. Lead 
has, however, been found in several other places, 
though no mines have been opened. The granite 
is employed for mill stones, and bears the test of 
experiment. The only vein of granitic rock in 
the Mine country, (so far as 1 have had opportu- 
nity to observe,) passes across the south western 
end of this county, and runs into Bellevue, 
(W. Co.) It is 4 or 5 miles wide, and extends al- 
together from 20 to 30 miles in a direction from 
S. E. to N. W. Considering the rarity of this rock, 
and the strong geognostic affinity which some of 
the more valuable metals have for it, it is not un- 
reasonable to suppose that such metals may exist 

8 



in it, and which a better acquaintance with the 
country may discover. On a visit there lately, f 
found several rare and beautiful specimens of 
greenstone porphyry ; the colour a greenish black, 
spotted with flesh red, passing into green on the 
edges. Unmagnetical pyrites of iron is common, 
so is quartz, and several spars. The principal 
district of good farming land in this county lies 
along village creek, and the eastern shore of the 
St. Francis, which runs through this county in a 
course nearly north and south. This river enters 
the Mississippi 500 miles below, pursuing its 
meandering, and is about half that distance in a 
direct line. A raft of trees, brush, &c. obstructs 
the navigation for boats, which would otherwise 
be uninterrupted to within 14 miles of St. Michael 5 
and whenever this is removed, the produce of this 
county will find a ready way to New-Orleans, and 
foreign merchandise be brought up at a cheaper 
rate. Goods are now wagoned over from St. Ge- 
nevieve. Madison is entitled to send one member 
to the Territorial Legislature. 

Jefferson County. The general mineralogical 
character of Jefferson county, though less flatter- 
ing than the preceding, is nevertheless interesting. 
The rock formations in this county are, so far as 
observed, chiefly limestone, which, although less 
metalliferous than granite, yet yields several of 
the useful, and in some cases, the precious metals. 
It runs into a kind of marble at Herculaneum. 
which is overlaid by a stratum of secondary lime- 
stone, bearing impressions of marine shells, ani- 
malcula, &c. The Rock Fort, a remarkable ledge 



59 

on the Mine a Burton road, consists of a coarse 
grey sand stone, and the vein may be traced S. as 
far as Rock Creek, a distance of 60 miles. Lead 
has been found in several places in this county, it 
has only been worked at Gray's mine, and McKtmc's 
mine, the latter situated on Dry Creek, a stream 
running into Big River from the Jefferson side. 
Lead has further been found on the head of Joa- 
chim Creek, 1 8 miles on the road to Potosi ; on 
Col. Hammond's plantation, 4 miles from Hercu- 
laneum ; on the Flatten near McCormick's ; and 
on the Joachim near Conner's. Iron ore is found 
in Big River township, near the ford at Todd's, 
and on Platten and Sandy Creeks. Salt was for- 
merly made at works on the Merrimack. The 
water is represented to be strong, but the works 
have been suffered to lie idle, in consequence, it is 
understood, of a dispute respecting the land title. 
Other works 8 or 9 miles from Herculaneum on 
the road to St. Louis, are now in operation, and 
salt of a good quality manufactured. 

The sulphur springs in Jefferson county are some- 
times resorted to by persons suffering from bilious 
complaints. They are thought to give relief in 
such cases, and an idea of their beneficial effects 
is generally prevalent among the inhabitants, 
who drink the water in large quantity. No analy- 
sis has been made to determine the medicinal 
properties of this water. It appears to me to be 
less impregnated with sulphur than those I have 
been acquainted with in the Genesee country, 
New-York. 

Jefferson county has several saw and grist mills, 



60 

3 shot manufactories, a tan yard, and 3 distille- 
ries. The principal farming districts are the banks 
of the Platten, Joachim, and Sandy Creeks. The 
southern shore of the Merrimack and the eastern 
banks of Big River also afford good lands. This 
county is represented in the Legislature by one 
member. 

In this general outline I have confined my re- 
marks to that district of country extending from 
the Mine La Motte on the St. Francis, to the Rich- 
woods on the Merrimack, and from the Mississip- 
pi west to the Fourehe a Courtois, making an ob- 
long square of about 70 miles by 45, and compris- 
ing a tract of a little upwards of 3,000 square 
miles; but although this is properly speaking the 
seat of the lead mines, ores of lead have been 
found at several other places, and we arc warrant- 
ed in the conclusion, that when the interior comes 
to be properly explored, the lead district will be 
found much larger; and I doubt not but some of 
the richest mines remain yet undiscovered. 

I have considered Madison County as the south- 
ern extremity of the mine tract, but lead ore has 
been found in the adjoining county of Wayne, on 
Otter Creek, and recently it has been discovered 
on Strawberry River, in Lawrence county. It is 
also found on the head waters of White River, on 
James River, on the head of the Merrimack, on the 
Arkansaw, Gasconade, Osage, and Mine River of 
the Missouri, and also on the Desmoine of the 
Mississippi ; but the quantity has been little at 
many of these places, and no furnaces for smelting 
in the large way have been erected. The appear- 



61 

ances in some places are however flattering, and 
such as to warrant the expenses of searching for 
bodies of the ore. On the Arkansaw in particular 
the quantity of ore in view is represented as very 
great, and from a series of experiments made by 
Messrs. La Fitte and Bronsheaux of New-Orleans, 
the ore is found to contain a sufficient per cent, of 
silver to render the separation in the large way a 
work of profit. 

The mineralogical character of the country on 
James River* is also such as to render it extremely 
probable, that large bodies of lead exist in that 
quarter. This stream is one of the head forks of 
White River, entering from the north west, and on 
a tour I lately made through that country, I brought 
away samples oi lead ore which bear a comparison 
with the best Mine a Burton ores ; and as I since 
find on assay, they are equally rich. Lead has 
also been found at the Bull Shoals, and on Trimble's 
plantation on White River, but no pains have been 
taken to ascertain the extent of the ore. At the 
former place it is found adhering to the rock on 
the margin of the river, and accompanied by such 
stony substances as are common at the lead mines. 
The place is further rendered interesting by some 
remains of ancient works found in the banks of the 
river, which consists of alluvial soil, 15 or 20 feet 
deep, reposing on limestone rock. In this bank 
pieces of metallic lead, oi earthen pots, &c. have been 
discovered imbedded in the firmest part of the soil, 
at the depth of 15 feet ; the surface being covered 

* For an account of this stream, fee the annexed description of White 
River. 



62 

by a heavy growth of forest trees. A few miles 
lower down, Indian arrow heads chipped out of 
flint, are found imbedded in the bank in the same 
situation, accompanied by small animal bones. In 
descending the river a month ago, (Jan. 18 J 9.) I 
stopped at this place, and brought with me a bit of 
lead in the metallic state, dug out of the earth, and 
which is manifestly the production of art. It is not 
perfectly malleable, though it may be cut with a 
knife. 

The lead mines at Prairie du Chien, are situated 
in the North Western Territory, and do not fall 
within the view here proposed to be given. It 
may however be remarked, that they are consider- 
ed the richest yet found. They are still in the 
possession of the Sacs and Foxes, the original 
owners of the soil, by whom they are worked in a 
very imperfect manner. They were formerly 
wrought by M. Dubuque, under the authority of a 
Spanish grant, and with consent of the Indians, 
but since his death they have manifested an un- 
willingness to allow any white man to work 
them, and appear to entertain a high sense of 
their value. M. Dubuque dying in debt, the 
mines were afterwards sold for the benefit of his 
creditors, but the Indians denied all former con- 
cessions, and thus a dispute originated, which is 
itill unsettled. According to Lieut. Pike (the 
late General Pike) they are situated 450 miles 
above St. Louis, pursuing the meanderings of 
the Mississippi, and six miles from the river's 
banks. From the information given to Lieut. 
Pike by M. Dubuque, the mines extend 27 or 28 



63 

leagues in length, with an average breadth of 
about 3 miles ; they yield (on the scale then 
worked, A. D. 1805) from 20 to 40,000 pounds of 
lead per annum, and the crude ore yields seventy- 
five per cent, of metallic lead. It appears also 
that some copper accompanies the lead, but on 
this head no satisfactory information is afforded, 
and the mines have not been explored with a 
mineralogical eye. 

In order to convey a just idea of the mines, I 
thought a general description of the country in 
which they lie, would be proper : — some facts 
relative to the soil, climate, productions, state of 
agriculture, commerce, manufactures, and general 
mineralogical character of the country. To aid 
the reader in forming an estimate of these, is the 
object of the foregoing details, and I shall now 
proceed to an enumeration of the different mines ; 
the method of working them ; the quality of the 
ore; accompanying minerals ; annual produce, &c\ 
To acquire this information I have spent much 
time and attention. 1 have visited every mine 
of consequence, with the view of learning its par- 
ticular character and extent ; and to notice its 
peculiarities. I have made a personal e7iamination 
of the whole mine tract during several journies, 
undertaken with the sole view of learning its 
physical geography — its principal streams, moun- 
tains, mines, farming lands, and other prominent 
features. If, therefore, I have failed to collect a 
body of useful information on the subject, it can 
neither be owing to a want of industry or oppor- 
tunity. 



SECTION HI". 

Of the different Mines, Ores, and accompanying Minerals.' 



Since the first discovery of lead in this territory * 
the number of mines has been constantly increas- 
ing, and hardly a season passes, in which some 
new discovery is not made. As the prospects of 
ore, in such cases, are generally very flattering, a 
number of miners are soon drawn together, and the 
older mines, are either partially deserted, or 
wholly abandoned. Thus a constant scene of bus- 
tle and discovery is kept up, and the change of 
situation, with the constant hope of falling sudden- 
ly on a great body of ore, gives a perpetual relish 
to their labours. The miners generally work on 
their own account; they are constantly on the 
alert, and when a new discovery is announced, 
eagerly exchange the slow but sure profits of work- 
ing in an old pit, for the prospect of finding larger 
bodies near the surface. Many old mines are, 
therefore abandoned, which are not exhausted ; 
the progress of discovery is ever advancing, and 
when a company of miners have once forsaken a 
pit on account of its depth, or some difficulties ex- 
perienced in raising the ore, they are seldom 
known to re-occupy it; and should the discovery 
made not prove valuable, which is sometimes the 
case, the concourse collected, generally make it 
so, for, unwilling to be disappointed, they fall to 



65 

Work, and leaf up the whole surrounding com; 
try. It must be an extraordinary thing if, 
with such a search, a large body of ore is not 
found. The very extensive district over which the 
ore is scattered, affords ample scope for the indus- 
trious and enterprising, and keeps a number al- 
ways in search. This alluring hope — this constant 
itch for discovery, although productive of the 
greatest advantages to the public, has, at the same 
time, one pernicious tendency, for much time is 
thus consumed, in hunting new beds of ore, which 
if spent in labour upon the old ones, would be 
found infinitely more advantageous. Thus a kind 
of laziness is created, habit is powerful, and as the 
pleasures of labouring people arise chiefly from 
their employments, many become attached to this 
kind of life, and they who spend the most time in 
hunting for ore, spend the least in digging it. 

The following is a catalogue of the Mines. It 
comprises those of most note, which are now 
worked, or have been at some former period. 
Mines. Situation. 

1 . Mine a Burton, Burton To wnship, Washington Co, 

2. Mine a Robino, 

3. Mine a Martin, 

4. New Diggings, 

5. Citadel Diggings, 

6. Perry's Diggings, 

7. Hawkins' Mine, 

8. Rosebury's Mine, 

9. Austin's Shaft, 

10. Jones' Shaft, 

11. Rocky Diggings, (Prairie de Roche) do 

9 



do 


do 


do 


do 


do 


do 


do 


do 


do 


do 


do 


do 


do 


do 


do 


do 


do 


do 



JlfinCS. Situation. 

12. Gravelly Diggings, Burton Township, Wash. Co. 

13. Brushy-run Diggings, do do 

1 1. Stricklin's Diggings, do do 

15. Bibb's Diggings, do do 
U). Tebault's Diggings, (Pinery} do do 

17. Mine Astraddle, do do 

18. Masson's Diggings, alias Partney's, do do 
n>. J, Scott's Diggings, do do 
20. T. Scott's Diggings, do do 
2\. Micheaux's Diggings, do do 
'1*2. Henry's Diggings, do do 

23. Moreau's Diggings, do do 

24. Tapley's Diggings, do do 
2!>. Lambert's Diggings, do do 
66. Old Mines, Union Township, do 

27. Mine Shibboleth, do do 

28. RllioCs Mines, do do 

29. Belle Fountaine, do do 
tO. Cannon's Mines, do do 
31. Little Diggings, do do 

12. Becquet's Diggings, do do 
33. Mine Liberty, LibeHy Township, do 
> 1. Renault's Mines, do do 
\5 Miller's Mine, do do 

16, Mine Silvers, do do 
.<?. Fourche a Courtois do do 

3a Pratt's Mine, Big River, do 

39. Lebanon's Mine, Richwoods, do 

it). Mine a Joe. Flat River, St, Genevieve Co. 

■11. Bryan's Mines. Ei&zle \\un< do 

|2. Dogget's Mine, do do 

13. Mine U Mbtte 9t Michael, Madison Co. 



*i7 

ii Gray's Mine- Big River, Jefferson Co 

45, M' Kane's Mine, DryCreek, do 

J he numerous mines or diggings in W ;; >hington 
County, are chiefly situated in the vicinity of Poto- 
sj, and have generally been considered under the 
bead of Mine a Burton- Thej are, however, itu 
ated at different places, at considerable distances 
asunder, and from their extent, and mineral cha- 
racter, appear to be entitled to individu I consider- 
ation. Several others of less importance, hav< 
he en omitted. 

These mines possess one general mineralogical 
character, although there are some peeuliaritit 
which i shall afterwards mention. The ore u 
found in detached pieces, and solid ma < , in veins 
and beds, in red clay, and accompanied by mfohu- 
rate of barytes^ calcareous '.pur. blende^ iron pyrites^ and 
quartz. The ore is oi that kind called by mineralo- 
gists, lead-glance^ or galena, and is the sulpkuret of 
lead, oi chymistryi Asiti dug up, or quarried from 
the adhering spar, it presents a veryrich appear- 
ance, it has a broad glittering grain, oi a lead-gray 
colour, which sometimes passes into a bluish 
shade. This particular colour may not be recog- 
nised on a superficial riew, for when the ore is piled 
in shining heaps at the mouths of the mines, there is 
so rich and dazzling a reflection oi light, that if 
appears uxAilfe, and a person unacquainted with 

ores, might readily mistake it for silver. '] be ore 

i$ easily broke by the hlow of a hammer, and may 

be pounded to a fine powder; it still preseres its 
glittering appearance, and i-. sometimes used in 

this state a« paper-saw/ . for which it is an c-Jer^rjf 



68 

substitute. In breaking it, a mathematical law is 
observable ; it always separates in cubes, which 
are more or less perfect, and on pounding, it con- 
tinues to preserve this figure, until the particles 
become too minute to discover their particular 
shape. Sometimes detached lumps of four or five 
pounds weight, of a cubical form, are found imbed- 
ded in the clay. Its primitive figure of crystalli- 
zation, is particularly observable after the ore has 
been desulphurated by heat, which, at the same 
time, increases its splendour, and renders the lines 
of intersection between the the facets in which the 
ore is crystallized, more plainly discoverable. 

The clay, or red earth in which the ore is found, 
appears to partake largely of marl, and a difife- 
rance in the quality, is to be observed at the differ- 
ent mines. It all, however, operates more or less 
as a manure on being thrown out of the pits, and in 
a few years, is covered with a very rank growth of 
trees, vines, &c. This is so characteristic a trait of 
all old diggings, that it will not escape the observa- 
tion of the most superficial visiter. Mixed with 
the clay are innumerable pieces of radiated quartz, 
very beautiful in appearance, and sharp fragments 
of flinty stones. These form the first stratum, and 
are about fourteen inches in depth, then succeeds 
a stratum of red clay, four or five feet thick, and 
sparingly mixed with substances of the same kind, 
and after this a layer of gravel and rounded peb- 
bles of asilicious character, is struck; these are 
about a foot in depth, and lead ore, in small detach- 
ed lumps, is then found. The thickness of the bed 
of ore, is generally a foot; and the lumps of ore 



69 

appear to have been rounded by attrition, like 
common gravel. This is the character of what is 
called the gravel ore, and no spars are found accom- 
panying it. The greatest proportion of lead ore, 
is, however, found imbedded in, and accompanied 
by the sulphate of barytes, resting in a thick stra- 
tum of marly clay, bottomed on limestone rock. 
The rock is invariably struck, at a depth of from 
fifteen to twenty feet, and puts a stop to the pro- 
gress of the miner in a common way. To go fur- 
ther, it is necessary to drill and blast, and this cre- 
ates an expense, which the generality of diggers 
are unwilling to incur, if not unable to support. 

The most valuable substance accompanying the 
lc.;d ore, is blende, an ore of zinc, which is found at 
several of the mines; and there is reason to con- 
clude, that large bodies of it exist. This is the 
sulphuret of zinc of chymistry, and is the same sub- 
stance called black-jack by the English miners, and 
sometimes also called pseudo-galena, and mock-lead, 
in writings on the subject. As few are acquainted 
with its nature or properties, and no one appears 
to be aware of its uses, no search has been made 
for it, and, indeed, in digging, they have rather 
avoided places where it was most abundant, con- 
sidering it an useless thine;. 

The other substances found with the ore, though 
not very useful in themselves in the present state 
of our knowledge, will be sought with avidity by 
the American mineralogist, as affording specimens 
which are seldom met with in any other part of the 
Union ; and they certainly tend to increase the 
gratification which a person feels on visiting the 



70 

mines. The sulphate of barytes, (called tiff, by 
the lead diggers here,) is the same substance call- 
ed cawh by English miners. These are both local 
terms, invented by the miners, who as they read 
few books, cannot be presumed to make use of the 
terms proposed by mineralogical writers, and ac- 
cordingly make use of their own terms, which it is 
nevertheless necessary that scientific readers 
should become acquainted with. Tiff, cawh, and 
sulphate of barytes, are therefore one substance, 
consisting of the earth barytes united to the sul- 
phuric acid. It is a very white, and a very heavy 
spar, and may be considered as the proper matrix 
of the lead ore, as it is found imbedded in, and of- 
ten completely enveloped by it. It is exten- 
sively useful as a chymical re-agent, or test, and is 
recommended as one of the best fluxes for iron ores, 
in smelting in the large way. 

Calcareous spar, is merely a carbonate of lime, 
in the crystallized form, and the figure of the crystal 
is a rhomb. This it invariably assumes, how- 
ever broken, and may be observed, when no big- 
ger than a grain of sand. Its colour is either white, 
or honey-yellow; it is transparent in a considerable 
degree, and very much resembles sparry-gypsum, 
for which it has been mistaken by several travellers 
who have visited the mines. This spar is here 
known, under the name of glass-tiff. Some speci- 
mens have the transparency of the Iceland spar, and 
exhibit double refraction. Iron pyrites, is a 
combination of sulphur and iron, and though class- 
ed as an ore of iron, is never wrought in the large 
way. It is, however, largely employed in several 



71 

parts of Europe, in the manufacture of green vitri- 
ol, and sulphur is sometimes procured from it, by 
sublimation. In this process, a red oxyde of iron is 
left, which is used as a pigment. Pyrites are com- 
mon at the mines, sometimes crystallized in regu- 
lar cubes of a beautiful brass-yellow colour, and 
at others, found in tabular masses, or mixed with 
blende, sulphate of barytes, or calcareous spar. 
The former variety has generally been mistaken 
in this region for gold, and many of the stories in 
circulation of the existence of this metal in the 
interior of Missouri, have no better foundation. I 
have disappointed several miners and hunters who 
brought in specimens, by telling them it was mere- 
ly a combination of sulphur and iron. Quartz 
is found throughout the whole mine district, both 
on the surface of the ground, and at all depths be- 
low. It is generally in the form of tabular pieces, 
whose surfaces are thickly studded over with 
small pyramids of transparent rock crystal, and 
presenting an appearance of the utmost beauty and 
splendour, looking like so many diamonds set over 
the surface of white stone. These crystals are 
frequently grouped in the form of a hemisphere, 
circular, or oviform, solitary or in clusters, form- 
ing the different varieties of mamillary and radi- 
ated quartz, and when met with in their pristine 
beauty, present a very rich and brilliant appear- 
ance. The mine country is characterized by this 
variety of quartz, which is generally found in the 
neighbourhood of mines, and such a geognostic affi- 
nity is it supposed to have with lead, that it has 
acquired the popular name of blossom of lead, or 



72 

mineral blossom, a term perfectly significant oi' the 
supposed affinity. It is known by no other name 
among the miners and commonalty of people in 
Missouri. Of the uses of quartz, it may here be 
observed, that is it largely employed, under differ- 
ent names, in the manufacture of porcelain and 
glass. Silicious sands are merely quartz, in the 
granulated form. Rock crystal is a variety of 
quartz, so is prase, sinople, and amethyst. Quartz en- 
ters as an ingredient into all vitrescent mixtures, 
hence is largely employed, not only in glass, but 
smalts, artificial gems or pastes, enamels, glazings, and. 
azure. Perhaps the kind under consideration is 
less adapted for these purposes than most others. 

These substances are generally found accom- 
panying the lead ores at the mines. The blende 
is, however^ often missing, sometimes the calcare- 
ous spar is also wanting, sometimes the pyrites, 
very seldom the heavy spar, and still more so the 
quartz. This is almost invariably present, though 
not always found at the immediate place of dig- 
ging. These variations in the mineral character 
of the mines, with some further particulars con^ 
nected with them, will render a separate notice of 
a few of them necessary. 

Mine La Motte. This is one of the oldest mines 
in the Territory, having been discovered A. D= 
1720, by the person whose name it bears. The 
mines are very extensive, and a large quantity of 
ore is annually raised. They are situated within 
2 miles of St. Michael, Madison county, and on the 
head waters of the River St. Francois. No spar? 
are found accompanying the ore ; iron pyrites is 



73 

occasionally met with, and plumbago is found in 
the vicinity. The ore, which is less brilliant, and 
differs in other characters from any other in the 
mine tract, is at the same time more refractory, 
and in some instances the greatest difficulties have 
been experienced in the smelting. Hence an idea 
has originated, that it is combined with other 
metals, particularly silver : but no experiments, I 
believe, have been made to ascertain this point 
It yields little lead, comparatively speaking: 50 
per cent, is the extent, and the quantity often falls 
short of this. On a visit to these mines, f observed 
the inside of the Ash Furnace beautifully tinged 
with a blue colour of considerable intensity. This 
furnace is built of a white sandstone, which be- 
comes vitrified on the surface, forming glass. We 
are acquainted with no substance which will com- 
municate a blue colour to glass in fusion, but 
cobalt; hence it is not unreasonable to infer that 
ihis metal is volatilized during the smelting, 
and is thus brought into contact with the li- 
quified surface of the stone, imparting to it the 
colour noticed. That the ores of La Motte 
contain an unusual portion of sulphur is very pro- 
bable. I draw this inference both from its refrac- 
tory nature and dull appearance. Sulphur always 
renders an ore refractory, for when it is expelled 
by torrefaction, it melts easy. Its dull aspect is 
not less conclusive, for the more an ore is roasted, 
the more sulphur there is driven off, the brighter it 
grows. This is evident to every smelter, who can- 
not fail to observe the surprising brilliancy the ore 
assumes after it has gone through the first operation 

10 



74 

in the log furnace. That the difficulties daily ex- 
perienced in smelting the La Motte ores are, there- 
fore, attributable to the extraordinary quantity of 
sulphur they contain, is extremely probable. For 
even if they were united with other metals, with 
silver or with cobalt, these would not increase their 
infusibility except by the extra quantum of sulphur 
they brought with them. At least we have no facta 
to prove that a simple alloy does not melt as easy 
as a pure metal, while there are many to show that 
alloys are of the most easy fusibility. Such is that 
made from tin, lead, and bismuth, which will melt 
in a tea-spoon held in a cup of hot tea : but it re- 
quires a red heat to melt either simply. Where an 
ore contains sulphur, it must be expelled by roast- 
ing, and the more sulphur, the more roasting is re- 
quired. This is the only remedy, and if the smelters 
at La Motte will take the pains to desulphurate 
their ores completely previous to fusion, I do not 
doubt but they will have a pleasant and profitable- 
result. 

Nciv Diggings. The quantity of ore raised at 
these mines has been very great, but they have 
been abandoned several years ago, on account of 
the water which rushed in with such rapidity, that 
to remove it every morning with a common wind- 
lass and bucket was found a work of such labour as 
to render the business unprofitable. The mines 
were left with the most flattering veins of ore in 
view. The general character of these mines is 
such as to justify the expenses of the erection of 
a steam engine, and other works for prosecuting 



75 

che business on an extensive scale ; and their re- 
vival at some future period may be confidently 
looked for. 

Mine Renault, is situated about 6 miles N. N. W. 
of Mine a Burton, in a very rocky part of the 
country, and affording some of the most picturesque 
views of mountain scenery. The country is strong- 
ly marked by mineral appearances, which render 
it probable that other substances of value besides 
lead may exist in that vicinity. Ores of zinc are 
abundant at this mine ; it is black blende. This 
is among the number of long neglected mines, 
where the ores near the surface have been ex- 
hausted, and the want of proper machinery, and 
mining capital, has barred a further progress. 
They derive their name from Phillip Francis 
Henault, who made the discovery about a century 
ago. A body of micaceous oxyd of iron is found 
near this mine. 

Bryan's Mines, on Hazle Run, are among the 
most recent discoveries of consequence. Near 
a million pounds of lead were made here during 
the first year of the discovery. The mine is cha- 
racterized by yielding no spars; sometimes a little 
calcareous spar is found, and then adhering to the 
ores, a circumstance which I have no where else 
observed. No heavy spar, pyrites, or blende, 
have been found. Much of the ore of these mines 
is found in tabular pieces, which are sonorous in 
a considerable d jgree ; the ore is brilliant, and 
smelts readily, yielding the same as Mine a Burton. 

Gray's Mine, situated on Big River, on the north- 
ern extremity of the mine tract, is remarkable for 



a body of white clay, which was discovered iti 
searching for ore. In sinking several pits at this 
mine, in search of ore, a stratum of clay of an un- 
usual appearance was struck at the depth of from 
8 to 10 feet, and no ore was procured at those 
places, but the diggings were abandoned in con- 
sequence of the clay, which covers a considerable 
area of ground on the banks of Big River. This 
mineral substance bears a striking resemblance to 
a specimen of German crucible clay in my posses- 
sion, and I have employed it in small crucibles in 
analysis, where a very intense heat was given* 
without discovering any other marks of fusion but 
such as are common to the best Hessian crucibles. 
Hence it is not unreasonable to conclude, that it 
is not only adapted for crucibles, but may also be 
employed in the making of glass-house-pots, where 
a clay of the utmost purity and infusibility is re- 
quired. The clay under consideration is mani- 
festly the result of decomposed shale, as this mine- 
ral is to be observed in all stages of the decompo- 
sition. 

Elliott's Mines. These lie upon the mineral 
fork, and are characterized by the abundance of 
pyrites, and the beauty of the Calcareous spar 
found there. Considerable quantities of blende 
were also met with, and strong indications of the 
existence of Copper are furnished. During the 
remarkable earthquakes of 1812, a fine spring of 
water at the mouth of the mines suddenly became 
warm and foul, and in a few days dried up entirely, 
and no water has run there since. Illuminations 



in the atmosphere, (arising doubtless from phos- 
phorus) are frequently observed in this vicinity on 
the approach of night. 

Mine a Burton. There is found adhering to the 
sides of the Log-hearth furnace at Mine a. Burton 
and other mines, a grayish-white sublimated mat- 
ter, of great weight, which I take to be a sublimate 
of lead. It is considered as chiefly sulphur or 
arsenic by the lead smelters, and is thrown by as 
useless. It is found at every furnace, and a very 
large quantity could be annually collected. This 
circumstance induced me to undertake some ex- 
periments on the subject. I was convinced, on 
reflection, that there could be no sulphur, at least 
no notable quantity of sulphur in it, from the fact 
that all sulphur, or other inflammable matter, ex- 
pelled from the ore in the furnace, would undergo 
immediate combustion. This is also observable 
in the colour of the flame while the ore is torrified ; 
and at the same time every person conversant with 
the nature of this substance must know it cannot 
be otherwise. The furnace is entirely open, and 
does not rise over 7 or 8 feet in height, conse- 
quently there is no opportunity for it to condense. 
That the sulphuric acid is driven off, is undoubt- 
ed, for whenever sulphur is burned this acid is set 
at liberty, but it has no opportunity for entering 
into a new combination, within the body of log 
furnace. 

The idea of arsenic in the substance alluded to, 
is perfectly erroneous, and has originated in an 
ignorance of the nature of the ores of these mines. 
It is the sulphuret of lead, and not the arseniale. 



That there is a small portion of silver and antl-^ 
mony in combination with the ore is probable, but 
they too are mineralized by sulphur. Reflecting 
on this, I became convinced of the popular error, 
and to ascertain the point, made the following ex- 
periments : 

Exp. I. I took a lump of the sublimated matter 
freed from adhering impurities, and reduced it to 
the state of a fine powder by pulverizing in an 
agate mortar and trituration. Of this I mixed 6 
parts with 4 of pulverized borax, and a little char- 
coal, and submitted to the intense heat of a small 
chemical furnace. On removing the crucible, I 
found a button of metallic lead in the bottom, weigh- 
ing nearly 4. 

Exp. II. Dissolved a quantity of the powdered 
sublimate in the nitric acid : it effected a ready 
solution, with violent effervescence. Poured on 
liquid carbonat of potash until no more precipi- 
tate fell. I then collected the precipitate, and 
washed away the superfluous alkali by clear wa- 
ter, and dried it in the shade. The result was a 
very fine, and a very white powder, of considera- 
ble weight. This was a carbonat of lead, (white 
lead.) With a quantity of the white lead thus 
made, I mixed linseed oil, and painted a board. 
The colour was of the most delicate white, and 
it gave a good body. On inspecting this board 
several months afterwards, I found the colour in- 
clining a little to yellowish. But perhaps it stands 
as well as any white lead would, prepared from 
litharge, by solution in the nitric or acetic acids ? 
and precipitation by carbonated alkali. 



79 

Exp. III. Mixed 8 parts of sublimate, with 12 
of muriate of soda, and fused in a crucible, with a 
tight cover, in a high heat. Result, a yellow, hard, 
heavy, vitrified mass. This was a muriate of soda 
and lead, {Patent Mineral Yellow.) 

As these experiments indicated a sublimate of 
lead of considerable purity, I ventured to suggest 
to several of those engaged in the lead busi- 
ness, the advantages of converting it into pig 
lead, by a proper treatment with charcoal in an 
ash or blast furnace. It is difficult, however, to 
induce people, particularly those engaged in me- 
chanical pursuits, suddenly to relinquish a long 
cherished theory, and the smelter who has hereto- 
fore considered the sublimate as sulphur or arse- 
nic, hesitates in believing it can be lead. If, there- 
fore, nobody profits by my suggestions, it can give 
me little disappointment, for experience has often 
given me occasion to remark, that it is the hardest 
thing in nature to learn an ignorant mechanic a 
new thing, or to introduce any alteration under the 
shape of an improvement, among workmen who 
have been brought up to particular trades, and 
have been accustomed to look upon themselves as 
masters in those trades. This has been the cause 
of much disturbance in manufactories, as well as 
mines, in this country, as well as in Europe. The 
first attempt of weaving by steam power, succeed- 
ed so well, that the weavers of Manchester (1791) 
burned down the manufactory. A similar opposi- 
tion took place on the introduction of the stock 
ing loom. 



ao 

It is also, perhaps, worthy of inquiry, whether 
this sublimate of lead is not adapted as a flux in 
the manufacture of flint glass, where litharge and 
red-lead are largely employed. In this light alone, 
it is a subject of some moment. From four to five 
hundred weight might be collected at every fur- 
nace, and as it is constantly forming, perhaps this 
amount might be collected annually. 

M^Kains* Mine is situated on a small stream, 
called Dry Creek, running into Big River not far 
from its junction with the Merrimack. It has not 
been worked for several years, and is among the 
number of those of least extent, which are not con- 
sidered advantageous. The mine is worthy of re- 
mark, only on account of a body of steel-grained lead 
ore found there. This ore is found to yield less 
lead in smelting than the common broad grained 
ore, and, as may be inferred from its texture, con- 
tains more silver. 

Mine a Martin. A quantity of slag is lying here, 
of a very rich appearance. It is a heavy, black, 
well melted substance, containing a considerable 
proportion of lead in the state of an oxyd, mixed 
with the earthy and alkaline parts of the ore. I 
consider this a suitable material for the manufac- 
ture of glass bottles ; it would require but a small 
addition of alkali and sand, to render it a very fu- 
sible and strong glass, fit to be blown into junk bot- 
tles ; and with a due admixture of other materials, 
it might be employed in considerable quantity in 
the formation of the lighter coloured green bottles. 
It is found at all the mines, where an ash furnace 
has been erected : at some places in greater puri- 



81 

iy than others, according to the flux which has 
been employed in smelling the lead ashes. This 
mine, and Mine La Motte, are particularly noticed 
for the richness of the slag. 

In the manufacture of glass bottles, there is a 
great variety of materials employed, and indeed as 
great a variety in the quality of the glass produced. 
The principal kinds are the black junk bottle, and 
the common green bottle. Of these, sand forms the 
basis, which is rendered fusible by the addition of 
potash, house ashes, and salt. The sand employed 
is of the most fusible and impure kind ; for as the 
colour of the ware is not regarded, the more iron 
or other metallic impurities are combined with it, 
the easier it will melt, and the better is it adapted 
for the purpose. Blacksmith's cinders, slag from 
an iron furnace, and from a glass furnace, and even 
ashes from which the salts have been partially ex- 
tracted by lixiviation, are also sometimes employ- 
ed ; the glass-founder always consulting the conve- 
nience and cheapness of the material, and adapt- 
ing his compositions accordingly. Lime in all its 
combinations, may be advantageously used. In 
the state of quicklime and chalk, it is a flux of con- 
siderable activity, and is largely employed, not 
only in the manufacture of bottles, but in common 
window glass. In its combination with the sulphu- 
ric acid, (Gypsum,) it is well adapted as a flux ; 
but where a particular regard is had to the puri- 
ty, as well as the activity of the lime employed, it 
will be advisable to prepare it from the calcina- 
tion of marble, or of shells, previously washed 
clean. This nicety will not, however, be found 

11 



82 

necessary in making common bottles, the prices of 
which will not indeed justify a great expense in 
the preparation of materials. Wood ashes are 
found, on analysis, to consist essentially of alumina, 
silica, calcia, oxyd of iron, oxjd of manganese, 
and potash. The four last are powerful lluxes for 
sand, and are, therefore,wc!J adapted as an ingredi- 
ent of glass. The alkali alone, in fresh burnt house 
ashes, is reckoned at ten per cent. ; when, however, 
the colour of glass is essential, they cannot be em- 
ployed, as the iron communicates a green tinge, 
which, however agreeable in window glass, is ob- 
jected to in a tumbler or a decanter; but in com- 
mon bottles, nothing is more suitable — nothing 
cheaper, or more readily obtained. 

There are also several volcanic productions, 
which have been found particularly adapted to the 
manufacture of bottles. Such is basalt, which 
has been largely employed in this manufacture in 
France ; and where it happens to be contiguous to 
a glass works, is a most valuable material. For 
this discovery we are indebted to Chaptal, one of 
the most ingenious chymists of the age. His own 
remarks on this subject are of so instructive a na- 
ture, that they may with propriety be introduced 
in this place. 

" Basalts is converted by fire into a most beau- 
tiful black glass. This property, which is admit- 
ted by every chymist, induced me to fuse it, and 
blow it into bottles. The attempt was perfectly suc- 
cessful at the glass-house of Mr. Gilley, of Allais, 
and at that of Mr. Giral, of Erepian. I still pos- 
sess the first vessels which were blown of this sub- 



03 

stance : they are of the most beautiful black, as 
tonishingly light, but without transparency. En- 
couraged by this first success, 1 requested Mr. 
Castelviel, the proprietor of another glass-house, 
to undertake some experiments ; and in conse- 
quence of various trials, we succeeded in fabrica- 
ring bottles of an olive green, in which the most ex- 
treme lightness, and a truly astonishing degree of 
solidity, were united. Pounded basalts, soda, and 
sand, in nearly equal proportions, formed the com- 
position. The properties of these bottles, as 
proved by my own experiments, as well as by those 
which Mr. Joly De Fleury, at that time comptrol- 
ler-general, ordered to be made, rendered them 
of the greatest value in commerce ; and Mr. Cas- 
telveil, was unable to supply the numerous orders 
he received. This manufactory supported itself 
with success for two years ; but at the end of that 
time, the superiority of the bottles ceased to be the 
same : the manufacturer received the reproaches 
of the consumer ; this superb establishment gra- 
dually fell off, and was at length abandoned. 

"Since that period, I have made several experi- 
ments in the large way, from which 1 have obtain- 
ed results, that may be of service to such as are 
desirous of following the manufacture. 

" I. The nature of the combustible used in glass- 
houses, has a prodigious effect in modifying the 
results of experiments. The same basalts which 
Mr. Castelveil considered as too refractory in his 
furnace heated by wood, was found of too fusible a 
nature by Mr. Giral, who was in the habit of using 
pit-coal in his glass-works. The former manufac- 



84 

turer accordingly made his glass by adding soda 
to the lava, whilst the latter mixed it with a very- 
refractory sand. 

" II. The same lava, fused without addition, may 
be blown in one glass-house, and not in another. 
This irregularity appeared to me, at first, to de- 
pend essentially on the skill of the workmen ; but 
I have since been convinced, that it is totally inde- 
pendent of that circumstance. In a furnace which 
is strongly heated, the fused lava becomes fluid 
like water, and drops from the iron tube, (the 
blow-pipe,) as soon as collected. The same lava, 
when fused in another furnace, will preserve a suf- 
ficient degree of consistence, to admit of being 
blown. I am myself well assured, that the lava 
might be wrought in any glass-house whatever, 
provided the moment was seized in which the 
paste was neither too fluid, nor too thick to be 
wrought; but those attentions are too delicate, 
and too minute, to be observed in works in the 
large way. 

" III. The hardest basalts affords the most beau- 
tiful glass. When it is contaminated with foreign 
principles, such as the nodules of lime, the glass is 
brittle, and has not a sufficient connexion of its 
parts. This circumstance, in my opinion, was 
the cause of the bad quality of the glass, which 
produced the failure in Mr. Castelviel's manufac- 
tory. 

" IV. I have seen very hard basalts interspersed 
with black infusible points, insomuch that these 
points became enveloped in the vitreous paste, 
without any perceptible alteration. The volcanic 



85 

mountain of Eseandorgue, near Lordeve, afforded 
me this variety of basalts. 

" In the article Verrerie, of the Encyclopedic 
Methodique, may be seen the various results 
which we have obtained with Mr. Allut, in several 
experiments made in the Royal Glass Works of 
Bosquet and elsewhere. 

"I shall concludefrom the observations which my 
experiments have hitherto afforded, — 1. That lava 
may be used in glass houses to diminish the con- 
sumption of soda. This is the single purpose I at 
that time proposed to myself, and I have clearly 
accomplished it. 1. By the results of my experi- 
ments, which have shown that refractory sand be- 
comes fused in the glass furnace by a mixture of 
lava. 2. By the effects obtained in all the works 
in the large way, in which the addition of lava 
permitted a diminution in the proportion of soda. 

" 2. It was very difficult to establish a rigorous 
process, applicable to all circumstances, by which 
lava may be wrought without addition. My bot- 
tles, into which lava entered as a component part, 
were scarcely known, before it was published that 
they were formed of lava without addition ; nothing 
more being said to be required than to fuse the 
lava in order to form bottles. This strange report 
affected me very little in the principle, because I 
had neither spoken, written, nor printed any thing 
which was capable of giving authority to such an 
error; and I was content to reply to all persons 
who demanded information, by informing them, 
that experience had taught me that an addition of 
lava diminished the proportion of soda in the com- 



8b 

position of glass, and that this new principle ren- 
dered the bottles lighter and stronger. 

" 3. That the only advantage which can be de- 
rived from fusing lava without addition, is to pour 
it out into moulds, to form paving stones, chimney 
jams, &c. The facility with which it is fused by 
the assistance of pit coal, would render these 
works of small expense, and it might easily be 
decorated by incrusting it with metallic colours. 

" 4. That the difference in the nature of volcanic 
products produces such a variety in the results of 
their fusion, that ! consider it as impossible to as- 
sign a constant and invariable process, by which 
the same result may be infallibly obtained. This 
circumstance renders it necessary to make pre- 
liminary trials in all cases where it is intended to 
use basalts in the fabrication of bottles." — [Cliaji- 
taVs Chymistry.) 

It may not be uninteresting also to give the re- 
sults of some experiments of M. Alliot, on different 
mixtures of this basaltic earth. Seven crucibles 
with different mixtures were heated for 18 hours 
in a common potter's furnace, (a glass-house not 
being at command,) which however gives a less 
intense heat than the glass furnaces, and therefore, 
if used in manufacture, a greater effect might be 
allowed than was here noticed. The results were 
the following : — 

No. 1. Contained pure basaltic earth, and melt- 
ed into a black opaque glass, moderately well 
melted. 

No. 2. Was a mixture of one third basalt, one 
third of ashes, and one third of white quartz in 



87 

powder, ft was a milky, brilliant, coilee-coloured 
glass, resembling fine porcelain. 

No. 3. Was a mixture of equal parts of basalt, 
and common sand. It was moderately well melt- 
ed, of a blackish blue in mass, but in thin lamina 
was of a yellow green. 

No. 4. Was a mixture of equal parts of ashes, 
and a volcanic granite. It melted well, gave a 
very fine dark yellow glass, of great lustre, and 
would have been very proper for bottles. 

No. 5. Contained one-nineteenth of ordinary 
soda, six-nineteenths of common sand, and twelve- 
nineteenths of ashes, and gave a yellow black glass, 
interspersed with opaque bluish white veins. 

No. 6. Consisted of one-third of basalt, one-third 
of refuse soda, and one-third of sand. It gave a 
fine transparent green yellow glass, very well 
melted, of a fine polish, and which would have 
been excellent for bottles. 

No. 7. Was simply the sand of the river Orb in 
the neighbourhood, which appeared by inspection 
to contain a large portion of basaltic earth. It 
melted well, and gave a very good bottle glass. 

The analysis of basalt shows that it is very well 
fitted both for fusion per se, and to act as a flux of 
considerable power; for it consists of about 45 
per cent, of silex, 16 of alumine, from 6 to 20 of 
oxyd of iron, 9 of lime, and from 2, 6, to 4 of pure 
soda, of which the three last are all very powerful 
fluxes. Many other minerals contain even more 
soda, such as the KUngstie?i* which contains about 
8 per cent, of this alkali, but having much less 
Ume and oxyd of iron, it is much less fusible. The 

* Clinkstone of Cleaveland. 



colour of all the glasses into which basalt enter? 
largely as a constituent, is generally of a deep 
olive green passing into deep yellow, and in mass 
almost yellow, nor is it probable that this colour 
could be materially corrected. The glass is well 
ascertained to be specifically lighter, and at the 
same time tougher than common green bottle 
glass, so as to bear harder blows without break- 
ing — two very important advantages; and the quan- 
tity of alkali contained, and that required to bring 
the whole to a workable state, is so small as pro- 
bably to enable this glass to resist all corrosive 
liquors, at least as well as any known kind of 
glass. {Artisfs Manual} 

In the different volcanic products, the Missouri 
Territory abounds. Pumice is annually brought 
down by the waters of the Missouri, and when 
they subside, pieces of it are to be picked up all 
along the shores of the Mississippi. It is also 
found in the interior, on the dividing ground be- 
tween White and Strawberry rivers, and volcanic 
mountains are reported to exist on the waters of 
the Kanzas, La Platte, and Yellow stone rivers. 
On the latter we are informed of a volcanic moun- 
tain, which is continually emitting smoke and 
flames, and lava is the product of that neighbour- 
hood ; but on this interesting head we have much 
to expect from the expedition, which is now as- 
cending the Missouri, to establish a garrison at 
the mouth of the Yellow Stone. 

The Yellow Stone River is one of the most con- 
siderable tributary streams of the Missouri. It 
originates in the spurs of the Rocky Mountains. 



89 

near the sources of the Arkansaw, and after run- 
ning nearly 800 miles in a N. E. course, enters the 
Missouri 1800 miles above its mouth. The Yel- 
low Stone, in its course to the Missouri, is swelled 
by innumerable streams, the principal of which 
are Tahong River, Big Ho en, and Republican Fork, 
all affording lands of the richest quality. It is 
represented as drawing its waters from a country 
as fertile, varied, and extensive, as the valley of 
the Ohio, and one capable of supporting as nume- 
rous a population. 



SECTION IV. 

Method of Working the Mines. 



The method of raising the ores, and the pro- 
cesses pursued in separating the metal, are, upon 
the whole, extremely shr pie. A pick axe and 
shovel are the only tools in use for removing the 
earth, and the drill, rammer, and priming rod are 
added when it is necessary to blast. Having de- 
termined on the spot for digging, the process com- 
mences by measuring off a square of about 8 feet, 
and throwing out the earth, spar, and gravel, until 
the miner sinks beneath the depth he can throw 
the earth. A practised hand will pitch his earth 
clear out of the pit from a depth of 10, 12, and 
even 15 feet. At this depth a common windlass 
and bucket is placed over the centre of the pit, 
and the digging continued by drawing up the 
earth, spar, and ores, if any are found, in the man- 
ner pursued in sinking a well. During his progress 
the miner is notified of his approach to a body of 
ore, by small detached lumps occasionally found 
imbedded in the soil, within a few feet of the sur- 
face, and sometimes lumps on the top of the ground 
determine on the place for digging. The spar is 
also a sign by which he judges, and there is seldom 
a body of spar found , without lead ore. There are 
also other signs, by which an experienced digger 
is advertised of his prospects, and encouraged to 



91 

proceed with cheerfulness in his work. These 
are, peculiar appearances in the texture of the spar, 
and sometimes minute specks of ore scattered 
through it, the changes in the colour, and other qual- 
ities of the earth, gravel, &c. If these appearances 
are promising, and bits of ore are occasionally met 
with, he is encouraged to sink down a great depth; 
but if they should fail, he is generally induced to 
abandon the pit, and commence at another place. 

In searching for ore, the soil, the slope of the 
hills, spar, blossom*, trees, &c. are taken as guides, 
and some are obstinately attached to these signs. 
Others, who have been fortunate in finding ore 
where these appearances were least promising, 
wholly disregard them, and pay no attention to 
rules. In general, there is a greater disposition 
to trust to luck and chance, and stumble upon ore, 
than by attending to mineral character, to be sure 
of success. As those who hunt by rules, are gene- 
rally incapable of those minute remarks on the 
distinguishing character, and geological situation 
of minerals, which are necessary, in order to en- 
sure success; it frequently happens that such 
meet with disappointments. An incident of this 
kind, is enough to perplex a man who has not 
habituated himself to reasoning on the subject, 
and to weaken his belief in the affinity of ores 
and stones. Such a man will not stop to compare 
and reconcile facts, which are seemingly opposite, 
or to investigate the nature of chymical principles, 
attraction, repulsion, decomposition, &c. 

* Radiated quartz of Mineralogy, 



92 

Hence 1 fr^qu°ntly hear miners exclaim on the 
Uncertainty of finding ores by rules drawn from 
the ol servations of science; that the strata of the 
earth are irregular, and not to be depended upon 
like the rock formations in Europe; and that in fine, 
we have no guides by which its mineral treasures 
are to be sought, and that in so confused a soil, 
chance is the best guide. Such a man is more 
ready to follow the mysterious guidance of the 
divining rod, than the light of reason ; and would 
be easily persuaded that fortune is more surely the 
result of blind chance, than of feasible schemes well 
planned, and well executed. 

There may, nevertheless, be some truth in the 
uncertainties and the confusion complained of, and 
were those circumstances among the observations 
of scientific men, would be conclusive. But who 
lias ever explored Missouri with a geological eye ? 
What mineralogist has ever travelled the country 
to make a collection of its numerous fossils? or 
what chymist has ever analyzed its mineral and 
vegetable productions? I know of none; it is a 
boundless field on which the light of science has 
but partially dawned; but it will be hazarding 
little to say, that when such observations are made, 
there will be found as much regularity, harmony, 
and order in the works of nature, as generally ex- 
ist. The few facts I have noticed, lead to this con- 
clusion. It affords granite, gneiss, and mica-slate, 
all rocks of the oldest formation. The whole mi- 
neral country is bottomed on primitive limestone, 
and quartz rock, and the older sand rock, are very 
common in the southern section, in the Arkansaw 



93 

country. Secondary limestone is met with, but it 
is far less common than in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, 
and Illinois, and when found, is to be traced over- 
laying transition or primitive rocks. Such is its si- 
tuation on the Mississippi, at the Dormant Wall, and 
at the cliffs in the neighbourhood of Herculaneum. 
Hence we are led to infer the antiquity of its geo- 
logical character, and cannot resist the belief, that 
few districts of the old world afford a greater regu- 
larity or harmony in their earthy structure; and if 
miners would render themselves acquainted with 
the pursuits they follow, if they would study the 
principles of their business, they would no longer 
find their operations a continued series of doubts, 
perplexities and disappointments. 

Having raised a sufficient quantity of ore for 
smelting, the next process consists in separating 
the spar, and cleaning the ore from all extrane- 
ous matter. This is done by small picks tapered 
down to such a point, that a careful hand may de- 
tach the smallest particle of adhering spar. It is 
necessary that the ore should be well cleaned, for 
it would otherwise prove refractory in smelting. If 
there be any lumps of uncommon size, these are 
beaten smaller. The object is to bring the lumps 
as near as may be to an uniform size, so that 
the heat may operate equally in desulphura- 
ting the ore. It is desirable that the lumps should 
be about the bigness of a man's two fists, or about 
fifteen pounds weight : if too small, a difficulty and 
a waste is experienced in smelting. In this state 
the ore is conveyed to the furnace, (see Plate I.) 
and piled on the logs prepared for its reception 



94 

When the charge is put in, which may in a com- 
mon way be about five thousand pounds, it is sur- 
rounded by logs of wood, and covered over at 
the top, and the fire is lit up at the mouth be- 
low. A gentle warmth is given at first, which is 
raised very gradually, and kept at this point for 
about twelve hours, to allow the sulphur to dissi- 
pate ; the heat is then increased for the purpose 
of smelting the ore, and in twelve hours more, the 
operation is completed, and the lead obtained. 
Wood is occasionally added as the process goes 
on, and there is a practical nicety required in keep- 
ing the furnace in proper order, regulating the 
draught of air, &c. so that some smelters are much 
more expert, and thereby extract a greater quanti- 
ty of lead from a like body of ore, than others. 
This furnace is called the Log Furnace, and so far 
as I know, is peculiar to this country. It is of very 
simole construction, consisting of an inclined 
hearth, surrounded by walls on three sides, open 
at top, and with an arch for the admission of air 
below ; and upon the whole, it appears well adapt- 
ed to the present situation and circumstances of 
the people. It is cheap, simple, may be built at 
almost any place, and answers the purpose very 
well. A good furnace of this kind may be built at an 
expense of from fifty to sixty dollars, every expense 
considered, and one of the most considerable items 
in this is the mason's bill, who cannot be hired 
to work here, for less than two dollars a day. 



livq Heart?* Furnace 



N?l. 




' 



r.n.irn.r. Sc 



J-'vr Smelting ~Lead Ore 



9^ 



Plate I. Figure 1. is a perspective view of the Log 
Furnace. 

a. The front wall, 8 feet long, 7 feet in height, and 

2 feet in thickness. 

b. b. The side walls, 8 feet long, and 2 feet thick. 

c. The hearth, 2 feet wide, and 8 feet in length. 

d. tl. The ledges on each side of the hearth, 10 

inches in height, and 1 foot wide. These 
serve to elevate the logs above the hearth, 
at the same time creating a draught for the 
air, and a passage for the lead. 

e. The eye of the furnace, or arch, 2 feet across 

at bottom, with an arch thrown in a half 
circle, or a flat stone laid across at the 
height of the ledges. 

f. The iron ladle for dipping out the melted 

lead. 

g. The iron mould. Every bar of lead cast in 

this, is called a pig. 
h. The hole in the ground, for the reception of 
the lead as it runs from the furnace. 
Figure 2. a perspective view of the furnace 
from the back or open part. The same letters 
used in Fig. I. apply to the same parts of the fur- 
nace in this figure. 

Figure 3. Ground plan. 

a. The eye or arch in front. 

b. 6. The side walls. 

c. The hearth. 

d. d. The ledges. 



96 

Three large oak logs rolled in from the back 
side, and resting on these ledges, on each end, fill 
up the width of the furnace; small split logs 
are then set up all around on the two sides and 
front ; the ore is then piled on, until the furnace is 
lull, and logs are then piled over it, beginning at 
the back, and continuing over to the front, so that 
the ore is completely surrounded by wood. This 
furnace is always built on the slope of a hill, as 
represented in Plate 1. Fig. 1. and the hearth is 
laid on an angle of 45**. so that it falls four feet in 
a distance of eight. Two furnaces of the size here 
described, are generally built together, by which 
there is a saving made of the expense of one wall, 
and the work is rendered stronger, one serving 
as a support to the other. Not only so, the same 
number of hands will keep a double-eyed furnace 
in blast, which are required at a single one. It 
takes three hands, one to cart wood during the day 
time, and the other two to relieve each other 
alternately, every twelve hours, at the furnace. 
When a charge is melted off, the furnace is cooled, 
new logs and upright pieces put in, and the 
whole operation began anew. Twenty-four hours 
is the lime generally allotted for each smelting, but 
it often takes thirty-six, and when there is bad 
wood and want of attention, it requires still longer, 
and indeed the result is never so good. 

The ore is estimated to yield in the large way, 
fifty per cent, the first smelting. A considerable 
portion of what is put in, does not, however, get 
completely desulphurated, and is found in the bot- 
tom of the furnace after cooling. This is chiefly 



97 

the smallest lumps, which have fallen through the 
apertures that burn between the logs, before they 
were thoroughly roasted, and thus getting out of the 
way of the heat, lie entangled with the ashes. Some 
lumps which are too large, also escape complete 
desulphuration, and either remain unmelted, or else, 
when the fire is raised, melt altogether, into a kind 
of slag, and produce little or no metallic lead. 
This constitutes what are called the lead ashes. 
The larger pieces, consisting of ore but partially 
desulphurated, are carefully picked out from, 
among the ashes, and added at the next smelting 
in the log furnace ; the remainder is thrown by in 
heaps for further examination. 

The lead ashes are still rich in lead, and when a 
sufficient quantity has accumulated from repeated 
smeltings, it is taken off to a proper place contrived 
for the purpose, and separated from the cinders* 
wood-ashes, and other adhering impurities. This 
is done by washing the whole in buddies, one set be- 
low another, in the manner of the potter, when it 
Is necessary to search his clays. The ashes, which 
consist of clotted lumps of a moderate hardness, 
are first pounded to a gross powder, and then in- 
troduced into the water through a sieve. The wood- 
ashes, and other impurities being lighter, swim on 
the top, and by letting offthe water, are thus carri- 
ed away. Fresh water is added, the ashes brisk- 
ly stirred with a hoe, and the water again let off; 
carrying a further portion of impurity with it, and 
by repeating this operation several times, the lead 
ashes are brought to the required degree of purity., 
Thus washed, they are carried to a furnace 
13 



98 

of a different construction, called the Ash Fur- 
nace, (see Plate 2.) and undergo a second smelt- 
ing. 

Plate II. Figure 1. A perspective view of the Ash 
Furnace. 

a. The ash-pit, 2 feet wide, 6 feet long, and 20 

inches in height. 

b. The mouth of the fire-arch, a foot square. 

c. The mouth of the flue, where the charge is 

put in. 

d. The iron pot for the lead to flow in, when the 

furnace is tapped. 

Figure 2. A longitudinal section through the fur- 
nace at right angles with the front, showing the 
curve of the arch, flue, &c. 

a. The ash-pit. 

b. The grates, 10 inches square, and 3 feet long; 

these are pieces of hewn stone. 

c. The mouth of the fire arch. 

d. The santee, consisting of two stones, 3 feet 

long, and 3 feet 6 inches wide, with a thick- 
ness of 6 or 7 inches. They reach from 
the bottom of the ash-pit, to a foot above the 
basin-stone, the isterstice between them be- 
ing rammed full of clay, and the whole mea- 
sures 18 inches across. (This keeps the lead, 
slag, &c. from running into the fire arch, and 
is an important part of the furnace, requir- 



99 

ing considerable skill and accuracy in the 
construction.) 

e. The basin-stone, 4 feet square, and 1 foot 
thick. 

/. The flue, or throat, 10 feet long, 22 inches 
wide, and 1 1 inches in height. This must be 
continued a foot and an half over the mouth 
of the flue, or apron, making the whole length 
eleven and a half feet, some prefer the flue 
twelve and a half feet. 

g. The mouth of the flue or apron, where the 
furnace is charged ; this flares from 22 inches 
to 3 feet in a distance of 3 feet, (as shown in 
Fig. 3.) 

h. The fire arch, 3 feet high In the centre, 1 8 in- 
ches high where the arch begins to spring, 
and the same over the centre of the basin 
stone. 

Figure 3. Ground Plan. 

From a to 6, 8 feet ; from b to c, 8 feet 6 inches 
from a to c/, 8 feet 6 inches ; from e to f, 6 feet j 
from e to g, 13 feet, 
h. The basin, 4 feet long, and 22 inches wide, 

except in the centre, where it is 24 inches 

wide. 
i. The flue. 
k. The mouth of the flue, or apron, 8 feet at the 

front, and 22 inches in rear. 
/. The santee. 
m. The fire-arch, with grates at bottom ; (this is 

22 inches wide at each end, 24 inches in the 



100 

centre, and 5 feet long from the inside of its 

mouth to the santee.) 
//. The mouth of the fire arch. 
o. The iron pot for the lead to flow into, set in 

the curve made in the wall for convenience 

of tapping. 
p. The curve in the wall for drawing off the slag. 

Figure 4. A perspective view of the mouth of the 
flue where the furnace is charged. 

From a to b, 6 feet ; from a to c, 5 feet ; from a 
to </, 1 foot. 

e. The mouth of the flue 22 inches wide, and 
1 1 high. (This flares out to 3 feet in the dis- 
tance of three feet, the flue covering half of 
it, so that the heat may be thrown down on 
the ashes. 
One of the principal points to be attended to in 
building an ash-furnace, is the elevation of the 
flue. It should rise 5j feet in 10 : some prefer 5^ 
in 11. If the ascent be too steep, the ore will run 
down into the basin before it gets hot, which is 
detrimental. If the ascent be too low, the bottom 
of the flue next to the basin will soon cut away by 
the heat, and thus in a short time undermine, and 
destroy the furnace. 

The flux employed is also a matter of moment. 
Sand, and pulverized flinty gravel, are mixed with 
the lead ashes before smelting. The object of 
this is to promote the vitrification of the slag, 
which would otherwise remain stiff; the particles 
of revived lead would not sink through to the bot- 



- /.-■ 7/ 1' a m a cc 




N?2. 
Fi<.I . 



FLo.II. 





Figm. 




101 

torn, but remain entangled with it, and thus be losi 
Lime is also sometimes employed for the same 
purpose, and indeed any earth would operate as 
a flux to the seoriacious part of the lead ashes, if 
added in a due proportion, particularly the alka- 
line earths. Lime and barytes, both of which are 
afforded in plenty at the mines, might therefore 
be advantageously employed, when no sand or 
easy-melting silicious gravel could be obtained. 
Good fusible sands are readily attacked, and li- 
quified by submitting to heat with oxydes of lead, 
alkaline salts, or any other alkaline or metallic 
flux ; hence their extreme utility in glass, enamels; 
and all other vitrescent mixtures. When, there- 
fore, silicious sand is to be obtained, it will be 
found a more powerful flux to lead ashes than 
either gravel, lime, spars, or any other substance, 
if we except the fluor spar. This is probably bet- 
ter adapted as a flux than even silicious sands, but 
• it has not yet been brought to light at the lead 
mines. Perhaps the lower strata of the earth may 
afford it. It is found at a lead mine near Cave-in- 
Rock, on the right bank of the Ohio river, State of 
Illinois, and, with the exception of a little found at 
Northampton, Massachusetts, is the only place 
where this rare, useful, and beautiful mineral oc- 
curs in the United States*. 



* I was mistaken in supposing this the only locality of the filiate of lime 
in the United States. It has also been found " in Virginia, near Wood- 
stock or Miller's town, Shenandoah Co. in small loose masses in the fissjjres 
of a limestone containing shells. (Barton.) — In Maryland, on the west side 
of the Blue Ridge, with sulphate of barytes. (Hayden.) — In New-Jersey, 
near Franklin Furnace, in Sussex Co. disseminated in lamellar carbonate of 
lime, and accompanied with mica and carburet of iron; — also near Ham- 



102 

The situation tor an ash furnace is always chose 
on the declivity of a hill, as represented in the 
plate. The inside work, or lining, consists of slabs 
of hewn limestone, laid in clay-mortar, and backed 
by solid masonry. Although a stone less adapted 
for furnaces could hardly be found, yet it is made 
here to answer the purpose, and is an evidence of 
the ingenuity of men in making a bad material an- 
swer when a good one cannot be found. No sand 
stone or free stone of that refractory kind used in 
glass and iron furnaces is afforded in this vicinity, 
and the smelters seem to prefer building their fur- 
naces often, to incurring the expense of transport- 
ing good infusible sand stones from a distance. It 
is not perhaps duly considered, that a furnace built 
of refractory materials, although expensive in the 
erection, would be sufficiently durable to warrant 
that expense, and outlast several built of limestone 
which burn out every blast, and are obliged to be 
rebuilt from the foundation. 

Limestone is a combination of the pure earth 
lime with carbonic acid and water ; it is a carbonat of 
lime. When subjected to a red heat, it parts with 
its carbonic acid and water, and if the operation be 
continued long enough, is converted into quick- 
lime. This effect, therefore, takes place as well in 



burg, in the same Co. on the turnpike to Pompton, in n vein of quartz ami 
feldspar. (Bruce.) — In New-York, near Saratoga Springs, in limestone ; it is 
nearly colourless, and penetrated by pyrites. — In Vermont, at Thetford. — 
In Connecticut, at Middletown, in a vein, and is accompanied by sulphurets 
of lead, zinc, and iron. (Bruce.) — In Massachusetts, at the lead mine in 
Southampton, where it is imbedded in sulphate of barytes, or granite ; its 
colours are green, purple, &c. — In New Hampshire, at Rosebrook's Gap, in 
the White Mountains, in small detached pieces. (Gibbs.)" 

Cleaveland's Mineralogy, 



103 

the lead furnace as in the lime-kiln, and with this 
difference only, that in the former it is laid in a 
wall, protected in some degree from the heat, and 
will not part with its carbonic acid readily; while 
in the latter, it is broken into comparatively small 
lumps, exposed to the heat on all sides, and is 
easily and readily converted into quicklime. 

Nevertheless, although this calcination is con- 
stantly and slowly progressing, an ash furnace will 
last from 15 to 20 days, according to the skill 
which has been displayed in its construction, and 
the particular quality of the stone employed. 
When the stone partakes of clay (alumina) it runs 
into a variety of argillaceous limestone, and is mani- 
festly better adapted to resist the effects of fire. 
Whenever the furnace is cooled, so that the stone- 
can attract moisture from the atmosphere, it falls 
into quicklime. This change does not, however, 
take place rapidly, for the burning has seldom 
been uniform, and the stones have either been 
overbumed or not burned enough, so that it requires 
several days, and even weeks, to assume the pow- 
dery state. 

An ash furnace, built of limestone, is estimated 
to cost $100. This includes every expense, and 
such a furnace lasts during one blast, say 15 or 20 
days ; perhaps with great care it will run a month ; 
and during this time from 60 to 90,000 lbs. of lead 
ought to be made. 

When a furnace is completed, it requires several 
days to dry it, and bring it to the proper state for 
smelting. About 10 days are usually spent in this 
The fire is begun very moderately at first, being 



KM 

only the warmth of a hot smoke, and is kept so 
for the first 5 days, by which means the moisture 
of the mortar and stone is gradually expelled, and 
without any danger of cracking the stone, or other- 
wise injuring the furnace. It is then raised a little 
every day until the furnace is brought up to a full 
red heat, when it is ready for the first charge of 
ashes. 

The operation begins by shovelling a layer of 
ashes on the mouth of the flue, then adding a thin 
layer of sand or flinty gravel as a flux, and then 
more ashes ; and so adding ashes and gravel alter- 
nately until the required quantity is shovelled up. 
This is suffered to lie here and grow thoroughly 
hot before it is shoved down the flue into the ba- 
sin, for if introduced cold, it would check the heat 
too suddenly, and prove injurious in the result. 
When hot, the charge is shoved down the flue 
with a long handled iron hoe, and another portion 
of ashes and gravel immediately shovelled on the 
mouth, suffered to heat, and then pushed down as 
before. This operation of heating and charging is 
continued until the furnace has a full charge, which 
may require about 6 hours, and in two hours more 
the furnace is ready for tapping. The slag, which 
is in a very fluid state on the top of the lead, is 
first drawn off, and the aperture closed up with 
stone and mortar. The smelter then goes to the 
opposite side of the furnace, and prepares for 
drawing off the lead by driving a stout sharp 
pointed iron bar through the side of the furnace, 
at a particular place contrived for this purpose. 
On removing the bar, the metallic lead flows out 



105 

into a large iron pot set in the ground, and accom» 
panied by a considerable quantity of a semi-me- 
tallic substance, called zane. This is lead not 
perfectly revived, being combined with some 
earthy particles, and oxyd of lead. The zane oc- 
cupies the top of the pot, and is first laded out in- 
to hemispherical holes dug in the clay near by. 
This substance is of the consistence of the prepar- 
ed sand used by brass founders when hot, but ac- 
quires considerable solidity when cold. The me- 
tallic lead is then laded into iron moulds of about 
eighteen inches in length, and yielding a pig of 
lead of about fifty pounds each. The quantity of 
zane made at each tapping, is about equal to that 
of metallic lead. This is afterwards taken to the 
log furnace, and readily converted into lead. The 
lead made at the ash furnace is not thought to be 
of so pure a quality, as that of the first smelting 
made at the log furnace. It undoubtedly con- 
tains the silver, antimony, and other metals, (if 
any,) combined with the ore, and is therefore 
more refractory. Such lead is thought to be a 
little harder, and some pretend to discover a lighter 
colour. 

The lead ashes are reckoned to yield fifteen per 
cent, of lead, (zane and all,) which, added to the 
first smelting, makes an average produce of sixty- 
five per cent. This estimate will hold good uni- 
formly, when the ores have been properly dressed, 
and the smelting well performed. Any spar ad- 
hering to the ore, renders it refractory, so does 
blende, and pyrites. The latter is particularly in- 

14 



J 06 

juriouB, as it consists chiefly of sulphur, a sub- 
stance known to render all ores refractory. 

The slag created by the ash furnace, is a heavy, 
black, glassy substance, well melted, and still con- 
taining a portion of lead. Some attempts have 
been made, to obtain a further portion of lead from 
it, by smelting with charcoal in a blast furnace; 
but the undertaking has not been attended with 
complete success, and is not generally thought to 
warrant the expenses. The per cent, of lead re- 
covered from the slag is not estimated over ten, 
and with the utmost success, cannot be reckoned 
to overgo twelve. 

Metallic lead in the pig, is now, (Feb. 1819.) 
worth $4 per cwt. at the mines. It sells for $4 50 
on the banks of the Mississippi, at St. Genevieve 
and Herculaneum; for $5 hi) in INew-Orleans; 
and is quoted at $6, in Philadelphia. This is 
lower than has ever been known before, (except 
at one period,) and a consequent depression in the 
mining business is felt. There is a governmental 
duty of one cent per pound, on all bar and pig 
lead imported into the United States, but it does 
not amount to a prohibition of foreign lead 
from our markets. Perhaps such a prohibition 
might be deemed expedient. It is what the lead 
smelters here call for, and certainly the resources 
of this country are very ample, not only for sup- 
plying the domestic consumption, but for exporta- 
tion.. 

Those who dig the ore do not always smelt it. 
The merchants are generally the smelters, and 
either employ their own slaves in raising the ore, 



107 

or pay a stipulated price per cwt. to those who 
choose to dig. For every hundred pounds of ore, 
properly cleaned, the digger receives two dollars. 
He works on his own account, and runs the risk 
of finding ore. It is estimated that an ordinary 
hand will raise a hundred weight per day, on the 
average, of a year together. This depends, how- 
ever, much upon luck; sometimes a vast body is 
fallen upon, with a few hours labour; at others, ma- 
ny weeks are spent without finding any. He who 
perseveres will, however, generally succeed, and 
the labour bestowed upon the most unpromising 
mine, is never wholly lost. The above average 
has been made by those long conversant with the 
business, and upon a full consideration of all 
risks. 

Custom has established a number of laws among 
the miners, with regard to digging, which have a 
tendency to prevent disputes. Whenever a disco- 
very is made, the person making it, is entitled to 
claim the ground for twenty-five feet in every di- 
rection from his pit, giving him fifty feet square. 
Other diggers, are each entitled to twelve feet 
square, which is just enough to sink a pit, and af- 
ford room for throwing out the earth. Each one 
measures and stakes off his ground, and though he 
should not begin to work for several days after- 
wards, no person will intrude upon it. On this 
spot he digs doion, but is not allowed to run drifts 
horizontally so as to break into, or undermine the 
pits of others. If appearances are unpromising, 
or he strikes the rock, and chooses to abandon his 
pit, he can go on any unoccupied ground, and ob- 



108 

serving the same precautions, begin anew. In such 
a case, the abandoned pit may be occupied by any 
other person, and sometimes large bodies of ore 
are found by the second occupant, by a little work, 
which would have richly rewarded the labours of 
the first, had he persevered. 

In digging down from fifteen to twenty feet, the 
rock is generally struck, and as the signs of ore fre- 
quently give out on coming to the rock, many of the 
pits are carried no further. This rock is invariably 
limestone, though there are many varieties of it, 
the texture varying from very hard and compact, to 
soft and friable. The former is considered by the 
diggers as a flinty stone, the latter is called rotten 
limestone, and from its crumbling between the fin- 
gers, and falling into grains, there is a variety of 
it called sandstone. It is all, however, a calcare- 
ous carbonat, will burn into quick-lime ; and, as I 
find on experiment, is completely soluble in the 
nitric acid. As no remains or impressions of shells, 
animalcula, or other traces of animal life, are to 
be found in it, I conclude it to be what geologists 
term primitive limestone, a conclusion which is 
strengthened by its irregular form. It exhibits no 
regular strata, being always found in huge mis-sha- 
pen masses. How far this formation extends, it 
would be difficult to determine, but so far as my 
observation goes, it is invariably the basis on which 
the mineral soil at Mine a Burton, and the nume- 
rous mines in its vicinity, reposes. It passes into 
transition and secondary limestone in various places 
on the banks of the Mississippi, between Cape Gi- 
rardeau and St. Louis. It is also seen passing into 



109 

a variety of marble, on the bluffs immediately back 
of Herculaneum, and at Judge Bent's plantation 
three miles below St. I ;Ouis. I have seen no spe- 
cimens of this mineral, however, which can be 
considered as a valuable material in sculpture. 

I have already mentioned the per cent, of lead 
obtained in smelting in the large way. I shall 
here add the result of an assay made on the ore. 
One hundred parts of ore yielded as follows: 
Metallic lead 82 

Sulphur driven offby torrefaction 1 1 
Earthy matter, and further por- 
tion of sulphur, either combin- 
ed with the scoria, or driven 
ofFbyheat 7 by estimation. 



100 
The ore experimented upon, was the common ore 
of Mine a Burton, (galena.) f took a lump of the 
purest ore, completely freed from all sparry and 
other extraneous matter, beat it into a very gross 
powder, and roasted for an hour and a half, in a 
moderate heat, with frequent stirring. On weighing 
the mass, it had lost 1 1 of sulphur. I now beat 
this to a very fine powder, and treated it with a 
strong flux of nitre and dry carbonat of soda, add- 
ing some iron filings to absorb the last portions of 
sulphur. The whole was enclosed in a good Hes- 
sian crucible, previously smeared with charcoal 
with a luted cover; and exposed for twenty 
minutes, to the high heat of a small chymical blast 
furnace. 



110 

The richest species of galena of which we have 
any account, is that of Durham, England. An an- 
alysis of a specimen of this ore by Dr. Thompson, 
gave the following result : 

Lead 85 13 

Sulphur 13 02 

Oxyd of iron 5 



98 65 
Many of the English, and nearly all the German 
ores are, however, much poorer. Of five several 
experiments made by Vauquelin on ores from dif- 
ferent mines in Germany, sixty-five per cent, of lead 
was the richest, and all were united with uncom- 
mon portions of carbonated lime and silex. 

The button of metallic lead found at the bottom 
of the crucible in chymical assays, contains also the 
silver, and other metals, if any are present in the 
ores. So also in smelting in the large way, the 
pig lead is always united with the other metals. 
When ores of lead contain any notable portion of 
silver, they assume a fine steel grain, and the crys- 
tals, which are smaller than in common galena, of- 
tener affect the octohedral, than the cubical 
figure. They are also harder to melt, and the 
lead obtained, is not of so soft and malleable a na- 
ture, as that procured from the broad grained, 
easy-melting ore. 

The proportion of silver in lead varies greatly. It 
is sometimes found to yield as high as twelve per 
cent, and is then called argentiferous lead-glance, but 
in the poorest ores, it does not yield more than 
one ounce out of three hundred. To separate the 



Ill 

silver from the lead, a process is pursued, called 
the refining of lead, or cupellation. This is effect- 
ed by exposing the lead to a moderate heat in a 
cupell, and removing the oxyd as soon as it forms 
on the surface, until the whole is calcined, leaving 
the silver in the bottom of the cupell. The lead in 
this process is converted into litharge, the well 
known substance of commerce; and the silver is 
afterwards refined by a second process, in which 
the last portions of lead are entirely got rid of This 
process is known at the German refineries under 
the name of silber brennen. burning: silver. 

The rationale of cupellation, is simply this. Lead 
on exposure to heat with access of air, is covered, 
by a thin pellicle or scum, called an oxyd ; and by 
removing this, another is formed, and so by con- 
tinuing to take off the oxyd, the whole quantity of 
lead is converted into an oxyd. It is called an 
oxyd, because it is a combination of lead with 
oxygen, (one of the principles of air and of water.) 
By this combination, an increase of weight takes 
place, so that a hundred pounds of bar lead con- 
verted into the state of an oxyd, will weigh as 
much over a hundred, as the weight of the oxygen 
which it has attracted from the atmosphere. Sil- 
ver, however, on being exposed to heat in the 
same situation, cannot be converted into an oxyd ; 
it has no attractive power f >r oxygen. Hence, 
when this metal is contained in a bar of lead, the 
lead only is oxygated on exposure in a cupell, 
whilst the silver remains unaltered, but constantly 
concentrating and sinking, till the lead is all 



112 

calcined. This is known to a practised eye, by 
the increased splendour assumed by the metal. 

I do not think the ore of Mine a Burton contains 
a sufficient quantity of silver, to render the separa- 
tion an object. This is to be inferred from its mi- 
neralogical character, from the mathematical 
figure and size of the crystal, its colour, splen- 
dour, &c. The territory is not, however, deficient 
in ores which are valuable for the silver they con- 
tain. The head of White River, the Arkansaw, 
the Merrimack, and Strawberry s ivers, all afford 
ores of lead, the appearance of which, leads us to 
conclude they may yield silver in considerable 
quantity. Decisive experiments have only been 
made upon that from Arkansaw; and upon the 
whole, it is a subject upon which 1 can say lit- 
tle from my own experiments, or my own observa- 
tion. 



SECTION V. 
Annual Produce, and number of hands employed. 



OxV this head, I find it very difficult to procure 
proper information. The desultory manner in 
which the mines have been wrought, and the 
imperfect method in which accounts have been 
kept, when kept at all, with other circumstances, 
which are in some measure incidental to the 
operations of mining in a new country, op- 
pose so many obstacles in the way of obtaining 
the desired information, that I find it impossible to 
present a correct statement, from authentic sources, 
of the annual produce of the mines, for any 
Series of years. When Louisiana was first occu- 
pied by the United States, Mine a, Burton, and 
Mine La Motte, were the principal mines wrought ; 
but the few Americans who had emigrated into 
the territory, under the Spanish government, were 
fully aware of the advantages to be derived from 
the smelting of lead, and, united to the emigrant 
population which shortly succeeded, made many 
new discoveries, and the business was prosecuted 
with increased vigour, and to a much greater ex- 
tent. The interior parts of the country, and such 
as had before been deemed dangerous on account 
of the savages, were now eagerly explored ; and 

15 



Ill 

the fortunate discovery of several immense bodies 
of ore near the surface of the ground, whereby the 
discoverers enriched themselves by a few days 
labour, had a tendency greatly to increase the 
fame of the mines, and the number of miners. But, 
as it generally happens in new countries, among 
the number of emigrants, were several desperate 
adventurers, and men of the most abandoned cha- 
racter. Hence the mines soon became the scene 
of every disorder, depravity, and crime, and a 
common rendezvous for renegadoes of all parts. 
It is by such persons, that many of the mines were 
discovered, and several of them wrought; and it 
is, therefore, no subject of surprise, that on inqui- 
ry, no accounts of the quantity of lead made, and 
the number of hands employed, are to be found. 

To secure the public interest, and remedy, in 
some degree, the irregularities practised at the 
mines, a law was passed in Congress a few years 
after the cession of Louisiana, reserving all lead 
mines, salt springs, &c. which should be discovered 
on the public lands subsequent to that period ; 
and the governor of the territory was, at the same 
time, authorized to grant leases to discoverers for 
three years. The great defect of that law appears 
always to have been, that a specific agent was not 
at the same time authorized to be appointed for 
the general superintendence, inspection, and ma- 
nagement of mines, — an office which, from its na- 
ture, can never be properly incorporated with 
that of the territorial executive, and which, with 
every inclination, it is presumed his other avoca- 
lions would prevent him from discharging either 



115 

with usefulness to the public, or satisfaction to 
himself. But whatever be the defect of the law, 
certainly the advantages which the government 
proposed to derive from it have not accrued. No 
revenue, it is understood, has yet been realized 
under it, and we are now as much at a loss how to 
arrive at a true statement of the mineral produce 
of Missouri, as if the mines had never been a sub- 
ject of governmental legislation. 

When a discovery of lead has been made, the 
miners from the neighbouring country have tlocked 
to it, and commenced digging as usual, no one 
troubling himself about a lease, and thus the pro 
visions of the act have been in a great measure 
disregarded. Men of respectability, and of suffi- 
cient capital to carry on mining in a systematic 
manner, have, it is believed, been frequently de- 
terred from making applications for leases, from 
the short period for which only they can be granted. 
It would not warrant the expenses of sinking shafts, 
erecting permanent furnaces, galleries, and other 
works necessary for prosecuting the business to 
advantage ; for, no sooner would such works be 
erected, and the mines begin to be effectually 
wrought, than the expiration of the lease would 
throw them into the hands of some more successful 
applicant. 

But, although we have no data to form an au- 
thenticated schedule of the annual product of the 
mines, for any required number of years, there is 
something to be obtained by collecting and com- 
paring facts, detached and scanty as they are. 
Something also is to be acquired by consulting the 



lib 

books which have been kept for late years in the 
ware houses on the Mississippi, where the lead is 
sent for exportation, and some information is also 
to be gleaned from various other sources. It is 
from information thus obtained, that I proceed to 
an enumeration of the products of the different 
mines, and the number of persons to whom they 
furnish employment and support, satisfied at the 
same time, that although the information may not 
be all that could be desired, yet "it is all, which. 
without the most extraordinary exertions, could be 
obtained. 

The amount of crude ore delivered at the fur- 
naces of Mine Shibboleth, during one of its most 
productive yars (1811) was something rising of 
6,000,000 of pounds. The ore of this mine is es- 
timated to yield, in the large way, from 60 to 70 
per cent; reckoned at 62£, which is probably a 
fair average. The product of that mine in 1 81 1 was 
three millions, one hundred and twenty-jive thousand 
pounds. Shibboleth is, however, one of the richest 
mines in the Territory, and this is the product of 
one of those years in which it was most profitably 
worked. It was then a new discovery, vast bodies 
of ore were found near the surface, and the num- 
ber of miners drawn together by the fame of its 
riches, was uncommonly great. It has since de- 
clined, although the ore is constantly found ; and 
1 am informed by Col. Smith, the present proprie- 
tor, that the product this year (1819) will be about 
one million of pounds. 

The number of persons employed in digging- 
lead at Mine a Burton has been constantly lessen- 



in 

ing for the last 4 or 5 years ; and this celebrated 
mine, which has been worked without interruption 
for more than 40 years, and is stated to have yield- 
ed as high as three millions per annum, is manifestl) 
in a state of decline During the last summer, 
(1818) the greater part of which 1 resided at that 
place, there were not more than 30 miners em- 
ployed, and the total product of the different pits, 
shaits, and diggings, composing this mine, did not 
exceed half a million of pounds. Of this quantity, 
Messrs. Samuel Perry & Co. were the manufacturers 
of about 300,000 lbs. They contemplate making 
an increased quantity during the present year. 
John Rice Jones, Esq. is also engaged in penetrat- 
ing the rock in search of ore. with the most flatter- 
ing prospects ; and is determined, as he informs 
me, to sink through the upper stratum of limestone, 
and ascertain the character of the succeeding 
formations. It is highly probable, reasoning from 
geognostic relations, that the lower formations will 
prove metalliferous, yielding both lead and copper, 
and such a discovery would form a new era in the 
history of those mines. The present mode of pro- 
miscuous digging on the surface would then be 
abandoned, and people made to see and to realize 
the advantages of the only system of mining which 
can be permanently, uniformly, and successfully 
pursued, viz. by penetrating into the bowels of the earth. 
Several other persons of intelligence and capi- 
tal are also engaged in mining at this place, and 
it is probable that the total amount of lead manu- 
factured at this mine during the year 1819, will fall 
little short of one million of pounds. 



118 

It is not to be inferred, however, that because 
the number of miners at Potosi has decreased, 
the mines are exhausted. On the contrary, there 
is reason to conclude, as already mentioned, that 
the principal bodies of ore have not yet been dis- 
covered, and that it is destined to become the 
seat of the most extensive and important mining 
operations. The ore heretofore raised at these 
mines has been chiefly found in the stratum of earth 
which forms the surface of that country, and is bot- 
tomed on primitive limestone. This stratum con- 
sists of a stiff red clay passing in some places into 
marl, and in others partaking more of the silicious 
character forming a loam, and imbedding the ores 
of lead, accompanied by sulphate of barytes, cal- 
careous spar, blende, pyrites, quartz, fragments of 
hornslone, chalcedony, flint, and other silicious 
substances. The depth of this soil is from iO to 20, 
and sometimes 30 feet, and in this the diggings 
have been chiefly done, requiring no other ma- 
chinery than is used in digging a common well ; 
and the rock has generally put a stop to the pro- 
gress of the miner, although veins of ore pene- 
.trating it have often invited him in the pursuit. 
But it requires different tools, machinery, and 
works for mining in rock; the process is also more 
tedious and expensive, and is considered espe- 
cially so by those who have been accustomed 
from their youth to find bodies of ore by a few 
days digging in the earth, and who, if they should 
work a fortnight at one place and not fall upon a 
bed of ore, would go away quite disheartened, 
The principal search has therefore been made in 



119 

the sub-stratum of clay, where large bodies of ore 
are sometimes found by a day's, and sometimes 
by an hour's work. Hence in the vicinity of Mine 
a Burton the ground has been pretty well explored, 
and more search and labour is required to find it, 
than in other and more distant places, where new 
mines continue annually to be discovered. But, 
with the exception of Austin's shaft, who sunk 80 
feet, and the mines opened by Jones, the rock at 
this mine remains unpenetrated. Austin found 
large quantities of ore filling crevices in the rock, 
and the appearances were flattering when the last 
work was done. In sinking down, a change in the 
rock was experienced, passing from compact pri- 
mitive gray limestone, by several gradations, into 
a loose granulated limestone, very friable, and 
called sand stone by the miners. This stone was 
in some instances completely disintegrated, form- 
ing a calcareous sand, and the most compact 
bodies of it, on a few weeks exposure at the mouth 
of the shaft, fell into grains. These grains were 
however wholly calcareous, and were readily solu- 
ble in the nitric and muriatic acids. The sand 
submitted to experiment was all taken up com- 
pletely, nor was any sediment deposited by many 
months standing. On going deeper, the rock 
again graduated into a compact limestone, very 
hard, and of a bluish gray colour, in which were 
frequently found small cavities studded over with 
minute pyramids of limpid quartz. These varia- 
tions in the geological structure of the earth in 
that place, are still observable by the stones, spars, 
and other minerals lying around the mouths of thr 



120 

mines, and, upon the whole, the appearances are 
such as to justify a conclusion that the lower strata 
of rocks at Potosi and the numerous mines in its 
vicinity are of a metalliferous character, and such 
as to warrant the expenditures incident to a search. 
From a statement lately drawn up, and certified 
by the proprietors of warehouses at Herculaneum, 
it appears that the total quantity of pig and bar 
lead, and shot, exported from that place, from 
Jan. I, 1817 to June 1, 1818, a period of 18 months, 
was 3,194,248 pounds. Herculaneum may be 
considered the depot for the lead of Mine Shibbo- 
leth, Richwoods, Belle Fontaine, a portion of the 
lead of Mine a Burton and Potosi, and a few other 
mines in that neighbourhood. Perhaps nearly, 
or quite half, of the whole quantity of lead yearly 
smelted at the Missouri mines, is shipped from 
this place. Here then is an average product of 
2,395,667 lbs. per annum, for the years 1817 and 
1818, from those mines which send their lead to 
Herculaneum. Assuming the ground that these 
mines produce only half of what is annually made 
at the whole number of mines, which I conclude 
may be a true estimate, we shall arrive at the con- 
clusion, that the annual product of the Missouri 
mines for those years was jour millions, seven hundred 
and ninely-one thousand, three hundred and thirty-four 
pounds. This, estimated at the present price of 4 
cents per pound, gives us a sum of one hundred and 
ninety-one thousand, six hundred and fifty-three dollars. 
This is the produce of one year; and supposing 
the mines to have produced the same average 
quantity during every year, since they have been 



121 

in possession of the United States, makes a sum of 
% 3,066,148, which is one fifth of the original cost 
of Louisiana, as purchased from France during the 
administration of President Jefferson. Let those 
who have any doubts of the value of our mines, 
reflect upon this, and consider that it is the pro- 
duct of a year, when the mines were in a manifest 
state of decline, and wrought wholly by individu- 
als, with a foreign competition to oppose, and with- 
out the benefits resulting from a systematic organi- 
zation of the mining interest. 

Nearly all the lead smelted at the Missouri 
mines, is transported in carts and waggons from the 
interior, to St. Genevieve, and Herculaneum. As 
it must necessarily be deposited for storage at 
those places, it was expected authentic accounts 
of the lead manufactured in the territory for ma- 
ny years, might be obtained on application. But 
in this, I experienced some degree of disappoint- 
ment. At St. Genevieve, although a ware-house 
has been kept at the landing for many years, the 
lead sent to town has not all been stored there. 
From the earliest time, and before the establish- 
ment of a ware-house by Mr. Janies, the French 
inhabitants of St. Genevieve had all been more or 
less engaged in the storage, purchase, and traffic 
of lead. Every dwelling house thus became a 
store-house for lead, and in these cases, no 
regular accounts were kept of the quantities re- 
ceived or delivered. The same practice, has, in 
some measure continued since, so that it is impos- 
sible to obtain, with any precision, the amount 
shipped from this place. At Herculaneum a ware- 

16 



122 

house has been kept since the year 1816, and on 
application to Mr. Elias Bates, the proprietor, he 
was so obliging as to allow me permission to pe- 
ruse his book of receipts, for the purpose of 
making extracts. The following details embrace 
the receipts of lead at that place for a period of 
two years and eleven months, ending May 18th, 
1819. 

I. A series of receipts from June 16th, 1816, to Dec, 
3 ] st, of the same year, being a period of six months 
and fourteen days. 

Fol. 1. Aggregate of receipts, 52,781 lbs. 

2. •-. 57,097 

3. 55,039 

4. 58,892 

5. 50,639 

6. • 63,787 

7. 55,663 

8...x 47,287 



441,185 
Aggregate of separate individu- 
al accounts during the same 
period, 322,134 

763,319 



123 

II. A series of receipts from 31st Dec. 1816, to 31st 
Dec. 1817. 

Fol. 1. Aggregate of receipts, 12,375 lbs. 

2. • • 51,521 

3- 49,024 

4 - ■ • 60,576 

5 •- 54,242 

6 -"« 47,321 

7 - 60,956 

y 51,420 

9 - • 43,774 

,0 - 42,694 

n - 47,958 

12 - 15,482 

537,343 
Aggregate of separate individu- 
al accounts during the same 
period, 501,903 

1,039,246 



HI. A series of receipts from Dec. 3 1 st, 1817, to 31st 
Dec. 1818. 

Fol. 1. Aggregate of receipts, 24,261 lbs. 
2 - 45,981 



Amount carried forward, ........ 70,242 



121 

Amount brought forward, 70,242 lbs. 

Fol. 3. Aggregate of receipts, 31,041 

4. 39,424 

5 34,711 

6. 44,266 

7. 31,315 

8. 56,442 

9. 33,932 

341,372 
Aggregate of separate individu- 
al accounts during the same 
period, ••• 112,203 

453,575 



IV. A series of receipts from Dec. 31s/, 1818, to May 
mh, 1819. 

Fol. 1. Aggregate of receipts, 14,764 lbs. 

2. 44,323 

3. 44,628 

103,715 
Aggregate of separate individu- 
al accounts during the same 
period, • • 26,211 

129,926 



125 

Recapitulation. 

1816. 763,319 lbs. 

1817. 1,039,246 

1818. 453,575 

1819. 129,926 



2,386,066 



During eighteen months, of the same period, viz. 
from Dec. 31st, 1816, to June 1st, 1818, there was 
deposited with, and shipped by sundry other per- 
sons in Herculaneum, as ascertained by Col. S. 
Hammond, and M. Austin, Esq. 517,495 pounds of 
lead, and patent shot, manufactured by Elias Bates 
and Christian Wilt, to the amount of 668,350 lbs. 
For the remaining part of the estimated term, (two 
years and eleven months,) it is reasonable to pre- 
sume, that a like quantity of lead was exported 
through private channels at Herculaneum, and a 
like quantity of shot manufactured by Messrs. 
Bates and Wilt. This will make the quan- 
tity of pig and bar lead shipped by individuals, 
1,031,990 pounds, and the quantity of patent shot 
manufactured, 1,356,700 pounds; which two sums 
added to the receipts of Mr. Bates' ware-house, as 
detailed above,gives us an aggregate amountofybwr 
millions, seven hundred and fifty-seven thousand, nine 
hundred and ninety pounds, for the period of two 
years and eleven months. St. Genevieve, as has 
already been mentioned, is probably the store 



126 

house for one half of the mines, and may therefore 
be estimated to have received and exported the 
same quantity of pig and bar lead during the same 
period, making a total sum of nine millions, five hun- 
dred and fifteen thousand, five hundred and twelve pounds, 
which gives an average product of rising of three 
millions of pounds of lead per annum. 

It would be interesting to know in what propor- 
tion the different mines have contributed to this 
amount. The above details show us their collec- 
tive importance, but we should then be enabled 
to estimate their individual and comparative value. 
With this view, I have compiled, from the best in- 
formation, the following 

ESTIMATE. 



Mines. 


lbs. of lead. 


no. of hands 


1. Mine a Burton, 


1 ,500,000 


160 


27. Mine Shibboleth, 


2,700,000 


240 


43. Mine La Motte, 


2,400,000 


210 


39. Richwoods 


1,300,000 


110 


41. Bryan's Mines, ) 

42. Dogget's Mines, ) 






910,100 


80 


6. Perry's Diggings, 


600,000 


60 


28. Elliot's Mines, } 






26. Old Mines, > 


45,000 


20 


29. Belle FountaineA 






17. Mine Astraddle, "\ 






33. Mine Liberty, / 






34. Renault's Mines, \ 


450,000 


40 


36. Mine Silvers, L 






3 s ) Millpr^ Minp^ 1 






Am't carried forward, 


10.905,000 


950 



127 

Mines. lbs. of lead. no. of hands* 

Am't brought forward, 10,905,000 950 

30. Cannon's Diggings, 
32. Becquet's Diggings, J* 75,000 30 

10. Little Mines, 

1 1. Rocky Diggings, 
5. Citadel Diggings, 

25. Lambert's Mine, 1,160,000 130 

9. Austin's Mines, 
10. Jones' Mines, 

12. Gravelly Diggings, 
19. Scott's Mine, 

3. Mine a Martin, *> 5 °'° 00 2 ° 

2. Mine a Robino, 





11,180,000 


4. New Diggings, not 


worked. 


38. Pratt's Mine, 


do 


40. Mine a Joe, 


do 


44. Gray's Mine, 


do 


8. Rosebury's Mine, 


do 


23. Moreau's Diggings, 


do 


22. Henry's Mine, 


do 


7. Hawkins' Mine, 


do 


15. Bibb's Mine, 


do 


24. Tapley's Diggings, 


do 


37. Fourche a Courtois, 


do 


21. Micheaux's Diggings, 


do 


18. Masson's Diggings, 


do 


16, Tebault's Diggings, 


do 



1130 



128 

Mines. 

13. Brushy-run Digging, not worked, 

14. Stricklin's Diggings, do 
10. J. Scott's Diggings, do 
45. M'Kane's Mine, do 

In this estimate are included all persons con- 
cerned in the operations of mining, and who draw 
their support from it, wood-cutters, teamsters, and 
blacksmiths, as well as those engaged in digging 
and smelting lead ore, &c. The estimate is sup- 
posed to embrace a period of three years, ending 
1st June 1819, and making an average product of 
3,726,666 lbs. per annum, which is so near the re- 
sult arrived at in the preceding details, as to in- 
duce a conclusion that it is essentially correct, and 
that the mines of Missouri, taken collectively, 
yield this amount of pig lead annually. 

The United States acquired possession of the 
mines, in the year 1 803, fifteen years ago last De- 
cember, and assuming the fact, that they have an- 
nually produced this quantity, there has been 
smelted under the American Government, fifty-jive 
millions of pounds of lead. 

On the view which has now been taken of the 
Missouri mines, it may be proper here to re- 
mark, — 

1. That the ores of these mines are of the rich- 
est and purest kind, and that they exist in such 
bodies, as not only to supply all lead for domestic 
consumption, but also, if the purposes of trnde 
require it, are capable of supplying large quanti- 
ties for exportation. 



129 

2. That although at different periods, (Jie 
amount oflead manufactured has been considera- 
ble, yet, this produce has been subject to perpetu- 
al variation, and, upon the whole, it has fallen in 
the aggregate, far short of the amount the mines 
are capable of producing. To make these mines 
produce the greatest possible quantity of lead of 
which they are capable, with the least possible 
expense, is a consideration of the first political 
consequence, to which end it is desirable, — 1. That 
the reserved mines be disposed of to individuals, 
2. Or, that the term for which leases are granted, 
be extended from three to fifteen years, which 
will induce capitalists to embark in mining, who 
are now deterred by the illiberality of governmental 
terms. 3. That there be laid a governmental duty 
of two and a half cents per pound on all imported 
pig and bar lead, which will exclude foreign lead 
from our markets, and afford a desired relief to 
the domestic manufacturer. The present duty is 
one cent per pound. But this does not prevent a 
foreign competition, and the smelters call for, and 
appear to be entitled to further protection. 

3. That although the processes of mining now 
pursued, are superior to what they were under the 
Spanish Government, yet there is a very manifest 
want of skill, system, and economy in the raising 
of ores, and the smelting of lead. The furnaces 
in use, are liable to several objections. They are 
defective in the plan, they are constructed of im- 
proper materials, and the workmanship is of the 
rudest kind. Hence, not near the quantity of me- 
tallic lead is extracted from the ore which it is 
17 



130 

• .. , 

capable, without an increase of expense, of yield* 

ing. There is a great waste created by smelting 
ore in the common log furnace, in which a con- 
siderable part of the lead is volatilized, forming 
the sublimated matter, which adheres in such bodies 
to the sides of the log furnaces, and is thrown by 
as useless. This can be prevented by an improve- 
ment in its construction, so as to prevent too fierce 
an introduction of heat into the ore before it is com- 
pletely desulphurated ; or, ihe sublimed lead thus crea- 
ted, may be reduced into metallic lead, by proper 
treatment with charcoal, as mentioned in a former 
part of this work, (see page 79.) No such waste is 
said to occur in the common English hearth furnace 
for smelting lead ore, (for a plate and description of 
which, see the Emporium of Arts and Sciences, 
new series, by Thomas Cooper, Esq.) To pursue 
mining with profit, it is necessary to pursue it with 
economy; and true economy is, to build the best 
of furnaces, with the best of materials. At pre- 
sent the furnaces are constructed of common lime- 
stone, which soon burns into quicklime, and the 
work requires rebuilding from the foundation. 
Not only so, the frequency with which they require 
to be renewed, begets a carelessness in those who 
build them, and the work is accordingly put up in 
the most ordinary and unworkmanlike manner. 
Instead of limestone, the furnaces ought to be con- 
structed of good refractory sand-stone, or apyrous 
clay, in the form of bricks, which will resist the 
action of heat for a great length of time. Both 
these substances are the production of that coun* 
try, specimens of which are now in my possession. 



131 

4. From the information afforded, it has been 
seen, that the mines are situated in a country 
which affords a considerable proportion of the 
richest farming lands, producing corn, rye, wheat, 
tobacco, hemp, flax, oats, &c. in the greatest abun- 
dance, and that no country is better adapted 
for raising cattle, horses, hogs and sheep. The 
country is well watered, and with the purest of 
water, the climate is mild and pleasant, the air 
dry and serene, and is healthy in an unusual de- 
gree. Every facility is also afforded by its streams, 
for erecting; works for the manufacture of white 
and red lead, massicot, litharge, shot, sheet lead, 
mineral yellow, and the other manufactures de- 
pendent upon lead, as well as wool, flax, and 
hemp. The country also abounds with various 
useful minerals beside lead, which are calculated 
to increase its wealth and importance. It is par- 
ticularly abundantin iron,zinc, manganese, sulphur, 
salt, coal, chalk, ochre, and flint. 

5. That a systematic organization of the mining 
interest, would have a tendency to promote the 
public welfare. To this end there should be ap- 
pointed an officer for the inspection and superin- 
tendence of mines. He should reside in the mine 
country, and report annually to the proper govern- 
mental department on the state of the mines, im- 
provements, &c. His duty should consist in part 
of the following items, viz. 

1. To lease out public mines, and receive and 
account for rents. 

2. To prevent the waste and destruction of wood 
on the public lands. 



132 

3. To see that no mines were wrought without au- 
thority. 
1. To keep the government informed, periodically, 
of the quantity of lead made at the different 
mines, of new discoveries of lead, zinc, iron, or 
any other minerals whatever, the qualities of 
such ores or minerals as ascertained by analy- 
sis, with the nature of the soil, value of it, &c. 
5. To explore the mineralogy of that country, in 
order fully to develope its mineral character and 
importance. There should be a particular at- 
tention directed towards the beds of copper, 
silver, tin, and antimony, which are reported to 
exist in the western country. Connected with 
these duties, should be the collection of minera- 
logical specimens for a national cabinet of natu- 
ral history at Washington. 

The superintendent of mines should be a chymist, 
and a mineralogist, and such a salary attached to 
the office as to induce a man of respectable 
talents and scientific acquirements to accept the 
appointment. To allow the manufacturers of 
lead every advantage consistent with the public 
interest; the rent charged on mines, should not 
exceed two and a half per cent, on the quantity 
manufactured, which is equivalent to the proposed 
governmental duty on imported lead, whereby 
the revenue would not only be kept up, but it 
might be considerably enhanced. The foregoing 
details exhibit an annual produce of 3,726,666 
pounds of lead, which it is presumable, may be 
half the quantity the mines are capable of pro- 
ducing, with proper management. But estimating 



133 

the lead at four cents per pound, and taking that 
as the average quantity, the annual rents at two 
and a half per cent, will create a revenue of thirty- 
two thousand, four hundred and ninety dollars. 

1 shall conclude this view with the following 
section on the uses of lead. 



SECTION VI. 



On the Uses of Lead, 

Lead is employed either in a metallic state, or 
as an oxyd, alloyed with other metals, or combined 
with various acids, in the following arts and manu- 
factures, viz. — 

1st. In the manufacture of White Lead. 

2d. of Red Lead. 

3d. of Litharge. 

4th. of Massicot, 

5th. of Naples Yellow. 

6th. of Chromate of Lead. 

7th. of Patent Mineral Yellow, 

8th. of Shot and Bullets. 

9th. of Pewter. 

10th. of Sheet Lead. 

1 1 th. of Solders. 

12th. of Printer's Types. 

13th. - of Pot-metal. 

14th. of Potter's Glazing, 

1 5th. of Enamels. 

1 6th. of Flint Glass. 

17th. of Artificial Gems. 

18th. of Sugar of Lead. 

1 9th. of Metallic Buttons. 

20th. of Sheet-lead Boxes. 

21st. of Weights and Measures 

22d. of Toys. Castings, &c. 



135 

I shall here add a summary account of each ol 
tnese manufactures, in the order in which they 
have been enumerated ; which is intended to show 
in one condensed view the utility of this metal in 
its application to the various economical purposes 
of life; and it may at the same time serve as a 
book of reference to such as have not the leisure, 
or the inclination, to peruse the more voluminous 
works on the subject. 

Man. l. Wliite Lead, or Cerusse. This pigment 
is prepared by casting the lead into sheets, rolling 
it up in a spiral form, and setting it to corrode in 
earthen pots partly filled with vinegar. A gentle 
heat is brought on by bedding the pots in horse- 
litter, or by heating the room in which they are 
set to such a degree as to cause the vinegar to rise 
up in vapour. This vapour corrodes and unites 
with the lead, forming a grayish white crusty pow- 
der, which is a carbonate of lead. This is after- 
wards scraped off, ground very fine between two 
millstones, then washed in water, dried, and sifted. 
It is afterwards ground in oil, and discharged from 
the millstones into small kegs, of the colour and 
consistence we usually see it in the shops. There 
is another way of preparing white lead, by dissolv- 
ing litharge in the nitric or acetic acids, and add- 
ing carbonate of potash or soda, which precipitates 
the lead united with the carbonic acid of the alkali 
in the form of white lead. This makes a whiter 
paint than the other process, but is not thought to 
stand the weather, or retain its colour so well. 

Man. 2. Red Lead, or Minium. This is an oxyd 
of lead, prepared by calcination in a moderate 



136 

heat, in a reverberatory furnace for many hourt. 
The furnace employed is built of brick, has a low 
flat arch like a bakers oven, and admits the air to 
play freely through it. Melted lead when thus 
exposed to the joint influence of air and heat, be- 
comes instantly covered with a dusty, ash-like 
pellicle, which being removed, another is imme- 
diately formed, and the process thus continued 
until the whole is calcined into a yellowish green 
powder. This powder is then ground in a mill, 
and washed, when it assumes an uniform deep 
yellow colour. This, when dry, is again put into 
the furnace, and heated with frequent stirring, 
until it turns to a qualified red, which, when cold, 
is taken out and sifted, and is the red lead of com- 
merce. 

Man. 3. Litharge. Nearly all the litharge of 
commerce is produced from the refining or cupel- 
lation of lead, in order to extract the silver from it. 
The lead is exposed in a shallow broad basin 
made of clay, bone ashes, &c. called a cupell, to 
the action of a fierce heat in a blast furnace, which 
is so contrived that the air forced out of the bel- 
lows blows off the oxyd from the surface of lead 
as soon as formed, and thus the lead is all convert- 
ed into litharge; but the silver it contains is not 
oxydable by exposure to heat, and therefore re- 
mains in a metallic state at the bottom of the 
cupell. Litharge is easily reduced into metallic 
lead again by heating it in contact with charcoal, 
and much of what is produced at the refineries is 
thus converted into lead again. 



137 

Man. 4. Massicot. This is white lead exposed 
to such a degree of heat in a crucible as is neces- 
sary to convert it to the desired colour. This 
depends wholly upon practice, and the whole skill 
of the art consists in stopping the heat at a parti- 
cular stage of the process when the colour is most 
beautiful. 

Man. 5. Naples Yellow. To prepare this colour, 
lett he following receipt be observed. Take 12 oz. 
of white lead, 2 oz. of antimony, half an ounce of 
calcined Roman alum, and 1 oz. of sal. ammoniac. 
Pulverize and mix them well together, put them 
into a clean earthen crucible with a cover, and 
expose it to a moderate heat for 3 hours. The 
result is a yellow vitrified mass, which, when pul- 
verized, is fit for use. 

Man. 6. Chromate of Lead, or Chromic Yellow. 
This beautiful pigment is prepared in the United 
States from a mineral substance called chromate of 
iron, and a solution of lead in the nitric or acetic 
acids. The processes appear to be somewhat 
complicated, and from the difficulties frequently 
met with in the preparation, it is probable a more 
accurate knowledge of chymical processes is re- 
quired than generally falls to the share of a mere 
manufacturer. 

Man. 7. Patent Mineral Yellow. " Take 66 lbs. 
of litharge and one bushel of salt. Dissolve the 
salt in a pan, strain the liquor to detect any im- 
purities, then pour it back into the pan, and add 
the litharge, at the same instant raising your fire ? 
which is to be kept up for three hours, until the 
mixture becomes perfectly white. Then wash out 

18 



138 

the alkali that remains in the sediment by repeat- 
ed waters, adding it to the liquor poured off Take 
the sediment, which is a muriate of lead, dry it on 
chalk stones ; when dry, put it into a crucible half 
filled, and melt it in an air furnace." — Dr. Hunter. 

The crucible should be covered, for any carbon- 
aceous matter falling in would reduce the muriate 
into metallic lead. It must be left in the furnace 
till cold, to preserve its crystallized form. This is 
the valuable, scarce, and high-priced substance 
used in the painting of carriage bodies, chairs, &c, 

Man. 8 Shot. A considerable proportion of the 
lead made in this (Missouri) Territory is manu- 
factured into shot. There are 3 shot towers in 
the vicinity of Herculaneum, where shot is made 
by letting it fall down the banks of the Mississippi. 
The banks at this place consist of limestone, 
which forms a perpendicular bluff of about 100 
feet immediately at the water's edge, both above 
and below the town. On this bluffa small wooden 
tower is erected, with a furnace and kettles for 
preparing, smelting, and casting the lead, and hav- 
ing a projection in front, from which the lead is 
dropped into a receptacle with water below, where 
there is another building and apparatus for glazing 
and polishing. The lead, previous to being drop- 
ped, is prepared by mixing with it a small quantity 
of arsenic, which renders it more fluid in casting, 
and increases its hardness when cold. It is melted 
in an iron pot in the upper part of the tower, and 
poured into a copper seive, made by perforating 
a copper pan full of holes, of the size of the shot, 
through which the globules of fluid lead drop into 



139 

the cistern below. By the time they reach the 
water they have become sufficiently cool to pre- 
serve their globular shapes. Shot of the largest 
size require to be dropped from the greatest height, 
say 140 feet, while the small sizes are only suffered 
to fill about 90 feet One man will smelt and 
cast, after the lead is prepared by alloying it with 
arsenic, from 4 to .9,000 lbs. per day. To polish 
these will occupy him 9 days. The polishing is 
done by putting a quantity of shot into a hollow 
cylindrical wooden vessel or barrel, which is fixed 
on a shaft and turned by a crank. The action of 
the shot against each other, converts them into 
perfect spheres, and a little plumbago which is 
added gives them a gloss, in which state they are 
ready for market. 

An improvement has lately been made here by 
Mr. Elias Bates, which facilitates the casting of 
shot, and supersedes the necessity of using a seive 
He has a ladle of cast iron, in the shape of a pa- 
rallelogram, but smaller at the bottom than the 
top. The two longest, being opposite sides of this 
ladle, are perforated with holes near, and at an 
equal distance from, the top, so that by canting 
the ladle a little either way, the shot drop through, 
and as the ladle is smallest at the bottom, are not 
at all impeded in their way to the cistern below. 
The quantity of shot made here for 18 months, 
ending 1st June, 1817, was 668,350 pounds. The 
present price of shot is $7.50 per cwt. The busi- 
ness, I am told, has been very profitable. 

Man. 9. Pewter. This is an alloy of tin, with 
kad, zinc, or antimony. There are three kinds in 



140 

common use, viz. plate, trifle, and ley. The be5> 
sort of pewter is said to consist of a mixture of 100 
parts of tin to 17 of regulus of antimony. This is 
the old English composition, but of late years the 
antimony has given place to lead, which forms an 
alloy much inferior in colour, hardness, and bril- 
liancy. Our American pewter is nothing more 
than about equal proportions of lead and tin. The 
French add a little copper in their pewter. Zinc, 
when added in any considerable quantity, increases 
its hardness and lustre, without communicating 
any dangerous properties, as copper is supposed 
to do. 

Man. 10. Sheet Lcctdi In the manufacture of 
this article, the lead is poured in a fluid state on a 
stone or earthen table, around which is a small 
ledge to keep in the lead, and of the height of the 
intended thickness of the sheet. The redundant 
lead is then swept off by a straight-edge^ and while 
it is yet moderately warm, the sheet is passed be- 
tween iron rollers, which reduces it to an uniform 
thickness, and gives it a smooth and even surface. 
Sheet lead is largely employed in ship building, 
in securing the decks of vessels : — also in covering 
the roofs of houses, in lining cisterns, bathing tubs, 
making house gutters, and pipes for conveying 
water under ground, and for sundry other econo- 
mical purposes. 

Man. 11. Solders. There are of various kinds, 
and are made by melting together different pro- 
portions of lead, tin, bismuth, &c. That kind em- 
ployed by tinmen, under the name of soft solder, 
consists of two parts of lead to one of tin* 



1*41 

Man. 12. Printers' Types. The composition oi 
the common type metal of the letter founders is 
stated to be 4 parts of lead to 1 of antimony, 
though some are accustomed to add a little copper 
or brass. Bismuth is said to improve the compo- 
sition, for this metal possesses the remarkable pro- 
perty of expanding a little on cooling, so that let- 
ters are more full and perfect, and the impression 
from such type is more delicately accurate, than 
when lead and antimony alone are employed. 
Type in which bismuth forms any considerable 
part are, however, of so fusible a nature as to 
melt in a candle. 

Man. 13. Pot-metal. This consists of lead al- 
loyed with copper, in various proportions. About 
one fifth part of copper in generally employed. 
The recent invention and introduction into general 
use, of Britannia and other wares, has now almost 
superseded the use oi pot-metal. 

Man. 14. Potter's Glazing. The common lead 
ore (galena) is used for glazing coarse pottery, 
without any other preparation than pounding and 
mixing with a little argillaceous earth, to enable it 
to form a better body on the ware. Hence its 
ancient name of potter's ore. Red lead is used for 
the same purpose, and all our home-made coarse 
brown pottery is glazed with red lead, or litharge, 
aud a very vitrifiable clay impregnated with silex 
and oxyd of iron. Red lead also enters into the 
composition of some of the finest and richest kinds 
of glazing. Of this kind was the glazing, or ena- 
mel, used upon the once admired Delfivare* 



g 



m 



142 

Man. 15. Enamels. Enamels are either laid 
upon earthy or metallic substances. They differ 
little except in the degree of fineness, and nicety 
with which they are prepared. The fine white 
opaque enamel, such as is laid upon watch faces, 
metallic snuffboxes, and other fine works, is com- 
posed of silicious sand, oxyd of lead, oxyd of tin, 
and a minute portion of oxyd of manganese. When 
it is intended to be coloured, other metallic oxydes 
in very minute doses are employed, as cobalt for 
a blue, copper for a. green, &c. These ingredients 
are prepared with great attention, and melted in 
an air furnace in luted crucibles. The mass when 
cold is pulverized and triturated very fine, then 
mixed with vegetable oil, and laid on with a brush 
according to the rules of painting, and afterwards 
exposed in a muffle to such a degree of heat as 
will just melt the enamel. The management of 
this part is attended with great difficulty, and upon 
the whole, it is an art requiring the exercise of 
great skill, and unwearied patience. The surface 
of the enamel is afterwards ground and polished 
in the manner of the lapidary. In this way gold, 
silver, copper, and other metals are enamelled. 
The enamel laid upon the finer kinds of earthen- 
ware is also a work of delicacy. Having been 
formerly engaged in experimenting on enamels, at 
the instance of a friend, a potter, who experienced 
much difficulty in this branch of his art, I shall 
here give the result of my experiments, and who- 
ever follows them faithfully will not be disap* 
pointed 



143 

A Receipt and Process for making Potters'* Enamel 

I. Melt ten pounds of lead with two pounds and 
a half of block tin, in an open vessel, so that the 
surface of the metal may be in contact with the 
atmospheric air. A proper apparatus for this 
purpose is a shallow cast iron pan or basin, set in 
brick-work, with a small flue for the fire beneath 
As soon as the metal melts, its surface will be 
covered by a thin pellicle or scum, which is the 
oxyd of tin and lead, and must be skimmed off as 
fast as it is formed, until the whole is completely 
oxydated. A bright surface should be always ex- 
posed to the air by continual stirring and skim- 
mings, otherwise the calcination will proceed slow 
ly, or if neglected too long, entirely cease, as the 
oxyd formed on the top will protect the metal from 
the air, and prevent it from imbibing new portions 
of oxygen. When the whole is converted into a 
powder, let all the skimmings be again put into 
the same vessel, raise the heat so as to bring it to 
a low red, and continue to stir it for 30 minutes, 
until every metallic particle has disappeared, and 
the whole is converted into an uniform gray pow- 
der. 

II. There is always in an oxyd of this kind, 
however faithfully it has been calcined, some me- 
tallic particles ; but so minute, or so completely 
enveloped by the oxyd, that they are not percep- 
tible to the naked eye. In order to get rid of 
these let the following process be pursued. Put 
a quantity of the oxyd into a vessel containing 
Water, and stir it briskly until it is completely 
suspended therein. Now, as the powder, however 



144 

fine, is absolutely insoluble in water, the whole* 
will be again precipitated by suffering it to stand 
undisturbed a few seconds. The metallic parti- 
cles will sink first, and the others successively in 
the inverse degree of their fineness, the most 
subtile calx always falling last. By seizing the 
moment, therefore, when the grosser particles have 
subsided, and pouring off the water with the finer 
powder suspended in it, the most delicate particles 
only will be obtained. The remainder must be 
again put into the calcining vessel, and treated as 
before. The water used must be pure, and the 
washing and precipitating vessels should be of 
glass, so that the operation may be seen. 

III. Of the compound oxyd of lead and tin, thus 
obtained, take 12 pounds; of fine white silicious 
sand, (such as the glass makers use, and prepared 
in the same way,) take 10 pounds ; and of common 
salt, dried and pounded, 4 pounds. Mix them in- 
timately together, place the mixture in a clean 
earthen crucible, and melt it in any heat or situa- 
tion capable of producing a perfect fusion, and so 
contrived, that no impurities may fall in during the 
operation. A small air, or chemical blast furnace 
will give the desired heat, and a cover luted to the 
crucible will secure the mixture from any adven- 
titious coloration. Where a glass-house is at hand, 
that may be resorted to. 

IV. While the mixture is still fluid, it may, if 
wished, be taken out with a pair of crucible tongs, 
and poured into moulds ; or if it is not manufac- 
tured for sale, that nicety may be dispensed with, 
and the fluid mass thrown into a vessel containing 



145 

water. This will split it into small fragments, and 
render it so friable, that it can afterwards be more 
easily brought to the state of a powder. This 
must be done by the mortar and pestle, and after- 
wards by trituration in a wedgewood mortar, 
the powder then passed through a fme linen sieve, 
or the grosser particles separated by washing. 

V. The fine, dry, impalpable, uniform gray 
powder thus obtained, is now ready to be applied 
to the surface of the ware intended to be glazed, 
and may even be applied to metals, after the man- 
ner of the enameller. To apply it to earthen-ware, 
the usual process of the potter may be pursued, 
either by mixing it with a solution of the gelatin- 
ous and farinaceous parts of grain in water, (as 
rye-flour,) and dipping the vessel in it, or by dip- 
ping the vessel first in the simple solution, and 
afterwards sifting on the powder. Both methods 
are practised, and either will succeed if well per- 
formed. The ware must be previously baked, so 
that it will greedily imbibe water. It is now to be 
carried to the furnace, enclosed in a muffle, and 
submitted to a sufficient degree of heat to melt the 
glazing. Nothing more is required. The object 
of the muffle is to prevent fine particles of ashes 
carried over by the flame, and other accidental 
impurities, from falling on the ware, which would 
produce a slight degree of colouration, and impair 
that delicacy of hue and texture for which this 
kind of ware is chiefly admired. 

By carefully following these directions, a very 
white, smooth, opaque glazing will be given to any 
earthen vessel, even such as is made from a brown 

19 



146 

or dark coloured clay, for the opacity of the glazing 
is sufficient to hide it. It is desirable that the 
lead and tin employed in this work should be of 
the purest kind which is afforded in commerce. 
Much pains should also be bestowed in selecting 
and preparing the sand, which must be purely 
silicious, of a line even quartzose grain, and pos- 
sessing that all important property, easy fusibility. 
The washing and sifting should be repeated, and 
the sieve last made use of, should be of fine bolting 
cloth, or fine brass wire. The opacity is produced 
by the oxyd of tin, which possesses, even in small 
proportion, the property of rendering vitrescent 
mixtures white and opaque. The oxyd of lead, and 
the soda of the common salt, operate as a direct 
and active flux to the silex of the sand. 

Man. 1 6. Flint Glass. This is distinguished from 
other kinds of glass by its superior purity, density, 
and lustre ; and in the manufacture, a greater at- 
tention is bestowed in selecting and preparing the 
materials, as well as in the composition and smelt- 
ing. Its composition is, however, chiefly distin- 
guished by the introduction of lead, which is 
largely employed. It is used in the state of an 
oxyd, either litharge or red lead, the latter is pre- 
ferred, particularly when manufactured from the 
direct calcination of lead. Litharge is generally 
contaminated with other metallic bodies, as anti- 
mony, bismuth, &c. which not only impair its ac- 
tivity as a flux, but have a direct tendency to com- 
municate a yellow tinge to the glass. The uses of 
lead in glass are two-fold : as a flux, and as a per- 
manent material of the ware. All the oxydes of 



147 

lead operate as a powerful flux to earthy mixtures, 
particularly those in which silex predominates. 
Hence, they are introduced into the composition 
of flint glass, in lieu of potash, which is used only 
in small quantities in lead glasses. A considera- 
ble portion of the potash employed in glass is lost 
by volatilization, and the quantity is constantly 
diminishing the longer it is kept in the furnace, 
and the higher the heat to which it is exposed ; 
so that it is probable if glass were kept long enough 
in the furnace, it would lose the entire quantity of 
potash originally put in the composition, at least 
so much of it as consisted of pure alkali. The 
oxyd of iron and other metallic and earthy impuri- 
ties contained in common potash would certainly 
remain, because they are indestructible by fire, 
and cannot be volatilized in any heat. The ex- 
periments of Loysel on the volatilization of alkali 
from glass, are certainly conclusive; at the same 
time, there are few glass-masters who have not 
become practically convinced of the fact ; for the 
longer glass is retained in the fire, after it has been 
there the usual period of smelting and blowing, 
the stifFer, harsher, and more unworkable it is. 
This property of alkaline glasses, which is no in- 
convenience in the manufacture of cylinder, crown, 
or bottle glass, where the pots are blown out within 
12 hours after melting, is a serious evil to the flint 
glass maker, who is often employed two days, and 
when blowing small articles, 4 or 5 days in empty- 
ing one pot. It is to remedy this evil, that lead 
was probably first introduced into the composition, 
and it certainly has the desired effect, for a pot of 



lead glass may be kept a week in the furnace 
without any sensible diminution of its pliability, or 
other essential properties. Hence its superior use- 
fulness in this manufacture ; it is a flux equally 
powerful with potash, and without its liability to 
volatilize. Lead also increases the strength of 
glass, by enabling it to bear a more sudden transi- 
tion from heat to cold, and is particularly adapted 
for cutting and polishing. Its high metallic lustre, 
weight, limpidity, and powe ?f refracting light, 
also sufficiently distinguish it above other spe- 
cies of glass, and particularly adapt it to the man- 
ufacture of decanters, wines, tumblers, &c. 

Man. 17. Artificial Gems. In the manufacture 
of these, as in glass-making, of which indeed it is 
only a branch, the different oxyds of lead are much 
employed. These gems consist of a basis of colour- 
less flint glass, tinged of various hues, by different 
metallic oxyds, and so as to resemble the emerald, 
amethyst, opal, carnelian, &c. As an instance, one 
of the receipts may be given. Mix 16 parts of 
red lead, 8 of silex, (or rock crystal in pow der,) 
4 of refined nitre, 2 of borax=, and 1 of carbonate of 
potash. Melt this composition in a close crucible, in 
a glass-house furnace, or any other furnace capa- 
ble of giving the required heat. This is a common 
basis for counterfeit gems, and may be tinged violet 
by manganese, blue by cobalt, red by gold, green by 
copper, yellow by silver or antimony, white opake 
by tin, &c. 

Man. 18. Sugar pf lead: Acetite of Lead. This 
metallic salt is a combination of lead with the 
acetous acid, i. e. common vinegar. The process 



149 

consists simply in dissolving the corroded lead 
scraped off sheet lead in the manufacture of white 
lead, in distilled vinegar. The solution is facili- 
tated by applying a gentle heat, and then set aside 
to crystalize. If the crystals are imperfect, it is 
common to re-dissolve, and re-crystalize. 

Man. 19. Metallic Buttons. These are made of 
various alloys of copper, zinc, and iron, with lead, 
tin, silver, antimony, &c. The best are gilt, or 
silvered, either by plating or washing. No very 
exact rules can be given for the compositions, for 
they are nearly as various as the manufacturers 
themselves, and it is a business in which practice 
will be found the best instructor. A manufactory 
of buttons was introduced into the United States, 
previous to the revolutionary war, by a Mr. Wistar, 
in the neighbourhood of Philadelphia. 

Man. 20. Sheet lead Boxes. This manufacture 
is chiefly concerned in the production of leaden 
boxes, which are found very convenient for pre- 
serving a variety of substances, which would be 
injured by exposure to air or moisture. Though 
of no great importance, the manufacture may be 
presumed to make use of a considerable quantity 
of pig lead annually. 

Man. 21. Weights and Measures. These are 
either made from lead alone, or tin alone, or lead 
alloyed with tin, or copper, or all three together. 

Man. 22. Toys, Castings, &c. Under this head 
a quantity of lead is annually consumed, and there- 
fore forms an item in the catalogue of manuikctures 
dependant upon lead. 



150 

Lead is also one of the ingredients used in the 
composition for silvering glass globes, and in the 
powder used in polishing glass mirrors, and is also 
further employed in several preparations in phar- 
macy, in experimental philosophy, and chymistry, 
and in a variety of economical uses in the plumber's 
art. 



PART II. 



OBSERVATIONS 



ON THE 



GEOGRAPHY, MINERALOGY, GEOLOGY, ANTI 
QUITIES, SOIL, CLIMATE, POPULATION, 
AND PRODUCTIONS 



OF 



MISSOURI, 

iND OTHER SECTIONS OF THE WESTERN COUNTRY 



Art. I. Geographical outline of Missouri Ter- 
ritory. 

Art. II. A Catalogue of the Minerals of the wes- 
tern country. 

Art. III. Journal of a voyage up the Mississippi, 
from the mouth of Ohio to St. Louis, with an 
account of that place. 

Art. IV. Topographical account of White River, 
in Arkansaw territory. 

Art. V. Miscellaneous information, 



1^ 



ARTICLE I, 



'.GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINE OF THE MISSOURI TERRITORY 



1 . Situation, Boundaries, and Extent. 

When Louisiana was admitted into the Union as 
an independent State, all that part of the territory 
situated north of the 33° of N. latitude, and for- 
merly known as Upper Louisiana, was erected into 
a separate territorial government under the name 
of Missouri. It also included those boundless 
plains, and unexplored countries stretching from 
north to south, at the foot of the Rocky Moun- 
tains*, and which pass into the province of Texas 
oh the south, and are bounded on the western line 
of Louisiana on the east. In the month of March, of 
the present year, the southern part of Missouri Ter- 
ritory, including the unincorporated regions on the 
west and south-west, was erected into a separate 
territory, under the name of Arkansaw, so that the 
present territory of Missouri consists of all that 
part of ancient Louisiana, which is neither includ- 
ed in the state of Louisiana, or the territory of 
Arkansaw. The regions to the northwest, may be 
considered as an unincorporated wilderness, where 
the authority of the United States, so far as the 

* Called Ckippeican Mountains by McKonzic. who is followed by Darby 
in his geographical lectures now delivering m New-York, 

20 



15± 

Indian title lias been extinguished, is maintained 
in detached posts and garrisons, under the imme- 
diate government of military commandants. The 
bounds of Missouri, as designated in the late law 
respecting that country, are as follows : beginning 
on the Mississippi river in latitude 36° north, and 
running due west on the latitude line to the River St. 
Francis, thence up that river to 36° 30" north lati- 
tude, thence west to a point due south of the mouth 
of the River Kanzas, thence north to a point oppo- 
site the mouth of the River Desmoines, thence east 
to the Mississippi river, and down the middle of 
that river to the place of beginning. 

It occupies, therefore, that section of countrj" 
situated in the great bend described by the Mis- 
souri and the Mississippi, from about four hundred 
miles below the Grand Turn of the former, to a 
point near the junction of the River St. Francis 
with the latter, including also the point of land 
formed by the junction of the Missouri with the 
Mississippi. It embraces some of the most promi- 
nent geographical features of the western country, 
and from the meeting of such mighty streams on 
its confines, and its relation to all the country 
situated north and west of it, must become the key- 
to all the commerce of those regions, and is des- 
tined to have a commanding influence on the sur- 
rounding states, and the political character and 
mutations of that country. It is bounded by the 
states of Illinois and Kentucky, from which it is 
separated by the Mississippi river on the east and 
northeast, by the territory of Arkansaw on the 



155 

south, and by the independent Indian Nations on 
the west and northwest. 

2. Soil, Climate, and Productions. 
The country west of the Mississippi, differs in 
some respects, from any other section of the west- 
tern country, and affords a variety in its physical 
aspect, which is no where else to be met with. A 
great proportion of the lands in this territory are 
of the richest kind, producing corn, wheat, rye, 
oats, flax, hemp, and tobacco, in great abundance, 
and in great perfection. The lands bordering on 
the Missouri as far as the territory extends, are rich 
beyond comparison. They consist of a stratum of 
black alluvial soil, of unknown depth and partaking 
largely of the properties of marl ; and the heavy 
growth of forest trees by which it is covered, indi- 
cates the strength of the soil. As you recede from 
the banks of the rivers, the land rises, passing 
sometimes by almost imperceptible gradations, and 
sometimes very abruptly into elevated barrens, 
flinty ridges, and rocky cliffs. A portion of the ter- 
ritory is, therefore, unfit for cultivation, but still 
serves as the matrix of numerous ores, which are 
distributed abundantly in the hills and mountains 
of the interior. There is very little land of an in- 
termediate quality. It is either very rich, or very 
poor; it is either bottom land, or cliff, prairie 
or barren; and we look in vain for those well 
known characters in the colour, texture, and com- 
position of the soil, which are found in the farming; 
lands of intermediate quality in New-England, 
New- York, or Pennsylvania. It is a deep black 
marl, or a high bluff rock, and the transition is often 



156" 

so sudden, as to produce scenes of the most pic- 
turesque beauty. Hence the traveller in the in- 
terior, is often surprised to behold at one view, 
cliffs and prairies, bottoms and barrens, naked hills, 
heavy forests, rocks, streams, and plains, all suc- 
ceeding each other with rapidity, and mingled with 
the most pleasing harmony. I have contemplated 
such scenes while standing on some lofty bluff in 
the wilderness of Missouri, with emotions of un- 
mixed delight, while the deer, the elk, and the 
buffalo, were grazing quietly on the plains below, 
and if any thing in the natural physiology of the 
earth, has a power to turn our thoughts from the 
pursuit of earthly glory, to the contemplation of 
celestial bliss, to the origin, the nature, and the 
end of our being, to the connexion between God 
and man, it must be a scene like this, where we 
are presented with an assemblage of all that is 
novel, beautiful, or sublime in the face of nature, 
far removed from the tumult, dangers, and decep- 
tions of life, and encompassed on all sides by si- 
lence, tranquillity and peace. 

Situated between the 36th and 40th degrees of 
north latitude, the territory of Missouri enjoys a 
climate of remarkable serenity, and temperate 
warmth. It is equally exempted from the hot sum- 
mers of the south, and th^ cold winters of the north, 
a medium happily calculated to favour the pursuits 
of agriculture, commerce, and navigation. That 
clear blue sky so much admired by the aborigines, 
is characteristic of the country, and an atmosphere 
of unusual dryness, exempts the inhabitants from 
those pulmonary complaints which are more or 



157 

less the consequence of an atmosphere surcharged 
with watery particles. The Rocky Mountains 
serve to shelter this country from those cold north- 
west winds, which prevail during the fall and win- 
ter in some degree, throughout the United States. 
and which sweeping over the great northern lakes, 
visit Ohio, Pennsylvania, New-York, and New- 
England with extreme cold, attended by early 
frosts in the fall, and late frosts in the spring. 
Neither are long continued storms common, noth- 
ing being more remarkable than the frequent 
changes of the wind, which seems to be rather an 
eddy, or counteraction in the current of the atmos- 
phere, caused by the constant and powerful 
breezes which play around the northern extremi- 
ty of the Rocky Mountains, than a fixed, and regular 
current produced by inequalities in the tempera- 
ture of the air. Rain is common in the summer 
season, and the earth is thus supplied with a mois- 
ture, which it would lack, were it dependant alone 
upon natural dews. 

A country thus situated, cannot fail to prove 
genial to the vegetable kingdom. It would be diffi- 
cult to point out a section of country which affords 
a more interesting field for the botanist. Its prai- 
ries and barrens are covered with a profusion of 
wild flowers, shrubs, and plants, and its cultivated 
fields yield to the hands of the planter, a great 
proportion of the useful vegetables of the earth. 
Corn succeeds remarkably ; no country surpasses 
the banks of the Missouri for the vigour of its 
crops. Wheat, rye, oats, flax, and hemp, are also 
raised with advantage. Tobacco is an article 



158 

recently introduced, but is found to succeed well v 
and the lands are said to be as well adapted to its 
growth as those of Kentucky and Virginia. Cotton 
is raised in the southern part of the territory for 
family use., but is not an advantageous crop for 
market. The climate and soil are also adapted 
to the growth of the sweet or Carolina potatoe, 
and to fruit trees of various kinds. The peach and 
the apple are most generally cultivated. Of wild 
fruits, the woods afford abundance, among which, 
the grape, percimmon, pa paw, pecan, and filbert, 
are conspicuous. Some varieties of the grape are 
delicious, and they are very common at the mines, 
where the inhabitants prepare a wine from them, 
which has a pleasant flavour, and is a cooling 
drink in summer*. 
3. Political Divisions. Population, and Principal Towns. 

Missouri is divided into sixteen counties, named 
and situated as follows : 

St. Louis, \ 



Franklin 

Cooper, 

Howard, 



Bounded on the Missouri 
and the Mississippi, and oc- 
St. Charles, /cupying the north and west 

Montgomery, [sections of the territory. 
Pike, 
Lincoln, 

* Missouri Wive. The following is the process for making this wine. 
Boil 20 lbs. of brown sugar, and clear it, add 12 gallons of water, and the 
whites of 4 eggs well beaten, then skim it, and set it off the fire to cool, when 
blood warm, put in the juice ofl bushel of grapes, when near cold stir it, and 
put in half a pint of lemon juice, and 6 spoonsfull of yest, and beat it well 
about in the liquor ; stiv it every day, put 6 lbs. of good raisins in a clean 
cask, and throw upon them the above liquor, then bung up the cask, and in 
(> months it will bo fit For use, or to bottle up. 



159 



Lawrence, 
New-Madrid, 
Cape Girardeau, 
Wayne, 

St. Genevieve, 
Madison, 
Jefferson, 
Washington, 



Occupying the southern 
district, and bounded by the 
Arkansaw territory on the 
south, and by the Mississip- 
pi, on the east. 
^ Forming the district of the 
mines, and occupying the cen- 
tre of the territory, bounded 
by the Mississippi on the east, 
land by the regions stretching 
I towards the rocky Mountains 
/on the west. 
Its population, exclusive of the aborigines, 
has been stated at 46,000, the greatest proportion 
of whom have emigrated into the territory within 
the last five years. They consist of people from 
various parts of the United States, and from Eu- 
rope. A large proportion are from Tennessee, 
Kentucky, New-York, and New-England. The 
original inhabitants were French and Spanish. 
There are few of the latter remaining, but the for- 
mer constitute a respectable proportion of the 
population. 

The principal towns of Missouri, are St. Louis, 
St. Genevieve, St. Charles, and Franklin. Of a 
lesser size, are Herculaneum, Potosi, St. Michael, 
New-Madrid, Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Chariton, 
Florrissant, and Carondelet. St. Louis is the ca- 
pital of the territory, and by far the largest town 
west of the Mississippi, or west of Cincinnati, in 
Ohio. It consists of about 550 houses, and 5,000 
inhabitants, and has two Banks, three houses for 



160 

public worship, a post office, theatre, land office, 
and museum, including forty stores, with several 
mills, manufactories, &c. It is eligibly situated 
on the west banks of the Mississippi river, eigh- 
teen miles below the junction of the Missouri, and 
from its commanding situation, is destined to be- 
come the emporium of the western country. 

Franklin, (at Boon's Lick,) on the Missouri, has 
1 50 houses, is the thoroughfare for emigrants to 
that quarter, and is surrounded by one of the rich- 
est bodies of land west of the Alleghany Moun- 
tains, and to which emigration is flowing, with 
unexampled rapidity. 

St. Charles, situated twenty-one miles above St. 
Louis on the Missouri, is also a handsome town, 
and flourishing, as well as Chariton, one hundred 
and eighty miles above, at the mouth of a river of 
that name. 

4. Rivers and Mountains. 

No country in the world affords such an extent 
of inland navigation by its sreams, as the basin 
lying between the Alleghany and Rocky moun- 
tains, and whose congregated waters are carried 
to the ocean by those stupenduous natural canals, 
the Mississippi, the Missouri, the Ohio, and the 
Illinois. The Mississippi itself, in whose current 
all these unite, and are discharged into the Mexi- 
can Gulph, washes the eastern boundaries of Mis- 
souri Territory, from the mouth of the River Des- 
moines, to near that of the St. Francis, a distance 
of more than five hundred miles, and may be navi- 
gated three thousand {ive hundred miles from the 
ocean. The Missouri, swelled by its great tributa- 



161 

ries, the Yellow Stone, Little Missouri, White 
Stone, Soo, (Sioux,} Loplatte, Kanzas, and Osage, 
passes diagonally nearly through its centre, afford- 
ing on both sides a wide extended tract of soil 
transcendently rich, and bearing a luxuriant growth 
of forest trees, and plants, interspersed with prai- 
rie. It is navigable, without interruption from its 
junction with the Mississippi to its falls, a distance 
of two thousand five hundred and seventy-seven 
miles, and which is about three thousand nine 
hundred miles from the Gulph of Mexico. It may 
be navigated above the falls a vast distance, and 
into regions which are only known to the savages. 

The Ohio is a thousand miles in length from its 
head at Pittsburgh, to its junction with the Missis- 
sippi, and in its passage, successively washes the 
shores of Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, 
Indiana, and Illinois, — shores which are covered 
with villages, towns, and settlements, and lined 
with an industrious and hardy population of free- 
men. 

The Illinois is also a stream affording a great 
length of navigation, and lands of superior quality, 
and has a natural connexion with the great north- 
western lakes, by which boats may, at certain sea- 
sons, uninterruptedly pass from Lake Superior, and 
the Lake of the Woods. 

These rivers communicating with all parts of 
the country, by their tributaries, afford the advan- 
tages of commercial exchange, trade, and manu- 
factures, to a greater extent, and a richer quality of 
country, than is any where to be found in Europe. 
Asia, or Africa. 

21 



162 

Of these advantages, the territory of Missouri, 
occupying so commanding a position in the geo- 
graphy of the country, must always partake large- 
ly, and may, from the wealth already concentrated 
in its capital, St. Louis, enjoy almost exclusively, 
the trade of the Missouri, and upper Mississippi. 

The streams which originate within the lines 
described by the political boundaries of the Ter- 
ritory, and which either during their whole course, 
or for a considerable distance, meander through it, 
are the Osage, the Gasconade, Merrimack, Salt 
River, St. Francis, and Black River. Of a lesser 
magnitude are Mine River, Manitow, Chariton, 
Currents, Fourche a Thomas, Eleven-points, and 
Spring River; the four latter running southerly 
into the Arkansaw Territory, and discharging their 
waters into Black River, which is itself a tributary 
of White River. 

The Osage, originates in a prairie country, near 
the 96th degree of west longitude, about 100 miles 
north of the banks of the Arkansaw, and after 
meandering in an east, and north-east direction 
for a distance of 900 miles, unites with the Mis- 
souri 130 miles above St. Louis. In its course it 
is swelled by several tributaries, the principal of 
which is the Little Osage, its great south-eastern 
fork. This river affords in its whole length large 
bodies of the choicest prairie land, interspersed 
with wood land, and occasionally with hills, and 
is navigable for moderate sized boats 600 miles. 
Its banks afford exhaustless beds of stone-coal, and 
some iron and lead is found, and its upper forks 
reach into the country of the Pawnees — a country 



163 

rich in salt. The Osage Indians inhabit its banks, 
and a part of the lands have been purchased by 
the United States. It is a very beautiful stream, 
and situated in a delightful climate ; and when its 
borders are opened for emigration, and its re- 
sources properly drawn forth, will support a vast 
population, and a profitable trade. Of this stream, 
emigrants, and the people of this Territory gene- 
rally know less than their interests demand. Its 
fertile soil, genial climate, and great length, enti- 
tle it to the rank of one of the'first tributaries of 
the Missouri. 

In estimating the length of western Rivers, there 
is one circumstance, which is neither properly 
estimated by an eastern reader, nor does it appear 
to enter into people's calculations here. It is their 
serpentine course, which is so remarkable, that in 
running one hundred miles on a geographical 
line, they will, by their great windings, measure 
at least double that distance, so that a river stated 
to be one thousand miles in length by its banks, 
cannot be calculated to traverse a country of more 
than five hundred miles in extent, and I believe, 
a fair average of distances, would show the geo- 
graphical distance less. 

The Gasconade enters the Missouri one hundred 
miles above St. Louis. Its length is about two 
hundred miles, and it is navigable about hall that 
distance. It is made up of several streams running 
from a ridge of high lands, separating the waters 
which fall on the north into the Missouri, and on 
the south into the Mississippi. Its banks afford 
but a small proportion of tillable lands, being 



164 

bordered with rocks, and sterile hills. The rocks 
are, however, cavernous, and afford saltpetre, and 
the hills are covered by pine timber, which is saw- 
ed into boards and plank. In these two articles 
the commerce of this river will always principal- 
ly consist. The current is rapid, and affords by its 
fall many mill seats, so that boats and rafts may 
descend with ease, but its ascent is attended with 
great labour. On this stream are already situated 
several saw mills, where boards and plank are 
cut for the St. Louis market, and several salt petre 
caves are worked. 

The Merrimack This river originates in high 
lands, two hundred and fifty miles southwest of its 
mouth, and is only separated from the waters 
of the Gasconade by a dividing ridge of land. It 
is swelled in its course by a great number of 
streams, the most noted of which, are Little Merri- 
mack, Bourbuse, Fourche a Courtois, Big River, 
and Mineral Fork. It forms^ a junction with the 
Mississippi, eighteen miles below St. Louis, where 
it is two hundred yards wide. It is only naviga- 
ble about fifty miles, unless in high floods in the 
spring and fall, when most of its tributaries may 
be ascended with boats. This stream waters the 
country of the mines, and interlocks, by its tribu- 
taries, with the waters of the Gasconade on the 
west, and the St. Francis on the south. The mines 
of Missouri are situated on its southern shores, 
which also afford iron, zinc, manganese, and salt- 
petre. Much of the land on this stream is poor; 
near it« head, are large forests of pine. 



165 

Salt River. This river enters the Mississippi 
one hundred and three miles above St. Louis, and 
seventy-three miles above the mouth of the Illinois. 
The settlements on its banks are rapidly progress- 
ing, and the lands are noted for their fertility. 

St. Francis. This river originates with Big Ri- 
ver, and Fourche a Courtois, in broken lands in 
the south part of Washington and St. Genevieve 
counties, and joins the Mississippi five hundred 
miles below. The most noted bodies of iron ore 
in the western country lie on its head, in Bellevue. 
The Mine La Motte lead mines also lie along the 
banks of one of its tributaries. It affords, in its 
course, a proportion of excellent land, mixed with 
some that is rocky, and bordered near its mouth 
with much that is swampy, low, and overflown. A 
raft of trees, brush, &c. about two hundred and fifty 
miles above its mouth, obstructs the navigation, 
which would otherwise be good to within fourteen 
miles of St. Michael, the seat of justice for Madison 
county. Millstones and plumbago, (the graphite of 
mineralogy,) are among the mineral products of 
this river. The substance used for millstones 
is a red granite, and bears the test of experiment. 

Black River has its origin near the heads of the 
Gasconade and the Merrimack, and is swelled in 
its course by the River Currents, Fourche a Tho- 
mas, Eleven-points, Spring River, and Strawberry 
River, and forms a junction with White River, 
about forty miles below Poke Bayou, where the 
road to Arkansaw and Red River crosses it. The 
banks of Black River, and of all its tributaries, 
afford strips of rich alluvial land of more, or less 



166 

extent. But the intervening ridges are rocky and 
sterile. 

Although there is much high land in this territo- 
ry, there is perhaps none which is, strictly speak- 
ing, entitled to the appellation of a mountain. A 
ridge of land commencing on the banks of the 
Merrimack, near the Fourche a Courtois, extends 
in a southwest direction to the banks of White Ri- 
ver, in Arkansaw territory, a distance of about 
four hundred miles, and occasionally rises into 
peaks of mountain height. This ridge serves to 
divide the waters of the Missouri from those of the 
Mississippi, the streams on one side running south 
into the latter, and those on the other, running north 
into the former. The body of red granite found 
on the head of the St. Francis, lies in mountain 
masses, and forms, in connexion with the accom- 
panying rocks, some of the most rude and terrific 
scenery, full of interest in a mineralogical, as well 
as a geological point of view. 

5. Mines and Minerals. 

In the preceding view of the lead mines of Mis- 
souri, I have already anticipated much of what 
might here be properly introduced, and in the cata- 
logue of minerals, which I propose to incorporate 
with the following part of this work, 1 shall present 
a general account of the minerals of Missouri, and 
other parts of the western country ; but as this geo- 
graphical outline forms an independent article, 
and may be perused by many who neither read the 
View or Catalogue, it will be proper here to give a 
synopsis of both. 



167 

The lead mines in this territory are situated 
about forty miles west of the Mississippi, and sixty 
miles southwest of St. Louis. They occupy a dis- 
trict of country between the waters of the St. Fran- 
cis and the Merrimack of one hundred miles in 
length, by about forty in breadth, comprising a con- 
siderable part of the counties of Washington, St. 
Genevieve, Jefferson, and Madison. The first 
lead ore was discovered by Philip Francis Re- 
nault, and M. La Motte, acting under the authority 
of the Company of the West, about the year 1720; 
since which period, the number of mines has been 
greatly augmented by new discoveries. The num- 
ber of mines now worked, is forty-five, thirty-nine 
of which are in Washington county, three in St. 
Genevieve, one in Madison, and two in Jefferson. 
The quantity of lead annually smelted from the 
crude ore, I have estimated at three millions of 
pounds, and the number of hands to whom it 
furnishes employment) at eleven hundred. The 
price of lead at the mines is four dollars per cwt. The 
price paid to miners for raising the ore, and deli- 
vering it ready dressed to the smelters, is two dol- 
lars per cwt. payable in pig lead. The ore ex- 
clusively worked, is the common sulphuret of lead, 
or galena, with a broad glittering grain. It is 
found imbedded in sulphate of barytes, accom- 
panied by calcareous spar, blende, quartz, and 
pyrites. It melts easily, yielding in the large way 
from sixty to seventy per cent, of pure metal. By 
analysis, I procured eighty-two per cent; the 
residue being chiefly sulphur, combined with a 
small proportion of carbonated lime and silex ; 



168 

and the ore contains no silver. The most noted 
and extensive mines are known under the following 
names : 

Mine a Burton, Mine La Motte, 

Mine Shibboleth, Mine a Joe, 

Lebaum's Mines, Mine Renault, 

Old Mines, New Diggings, 

Bryan's Mines, Mine Liberty, 

Pratt's Mines, Cannon's Mines, 

Mine a Robins, Mine Silvers, 

Mine Astraddle, Mine a Martin. 

Other mines of lead are also situated in different 
parts of the Territory, but have not been explored. 
The Osage, Gasconade, Black, Strawberry, and 
Mine Rivers, all afford traces of lead, and there is 
reason to conclude that extensive bodies of it may 
be found. 

Iron ore is found in very large bodies in Belle- 
vue, Washington County — on Fourche a Courtois, 
where it is accompanied by manganese; — on Big 
River; — on Platten and Joachim Creeks, and on 
the waters of the St. Francis and Black Rivers. 
Zinc accompanies the lead ore at several mines in 
Washington County. Antimony has been found in 
Bellevue, and arsenic in Cape Girardeau, where 
there is a very extensive body of chalk, accompa- 
nied by flint. Red chalk, ochre, salt, nitre, steatite, 
gypsum, marl, plumbago, porphyry, jasper, chalce- 
dony, barytes, pumice, and granite, are among the 
useful miner ds, of less importance. Stone coal 
exists in large bodies at Florrissant, and in various 
places on the Osage River. 



169 

(5. Antiquities and Curiosities. A number of ske- 
letons were discovered in the fall of 1818, on the 
plantation of Mr. Long, on the River Merrimack, 
which indicate a stature unusually small, and are 
supposed by many to be the remains of an extinct 
race of human beings, of dwarfish origin, who have 
inhabited the country at a former period. Others 
have attempted to account for these appearances 
by a reference to the ancient customs of the North 
American savages, who are known to have exposed 
the bodies of their diseased relatives on scaifolds 
in the air, until all the fleshy parts were decayed 
and dissipated, when the bones were carefully 
collected, and funeral obsequies performed, at- 
tended by the most extravagant demonstrations of 
grief. This explanation obviates the shortness of 
the graves, but is opposed by the relative length 
of the leg bones, compared with anatomies of the 
present day. That all these graves, which are 
very numerous, were the repositories of deceased 
children, and young persons, would also be con- 
clusive, did not the teeth found indicate persons 
arrived at the age of manhood. None of the graves 
exceed four feet in length. 

An antique Indian grave opened on the banks 
of Big River, about 30 miles east of the Merrimack, 
produced a skeleton, which was estimated to have 
a stature of eight feet. It was accompanied by 
pottery, pipes, and glass beads. 

Those mounds which extend in so remarkable 
a manner along the banks of the Ohio and its tri- 
butaries, are also to be traced up the Mississippi, 
and are very numerous on the American bottom, 



170 

and at St. Louis. Those in the vicinity of St 
Louis appear to have been constructed ibr obser«° 
vation and defence, They are very large, and 
rise to a great height, overlooking a very exten- 
sive tract of the surrounding country. 

In descending White River, during the winter of 
1819, I procured, at a place called the Bull Shoals, 
specimens of an antique malleable alloy, which 
appears to consist of lead and silver. They were 
found on the banks of the river, about 1 5 feet be- 
low the soil, which is alluvial, and accompanied 
by fragments of antique pottery. Ancient stone 
axes, made from porphyry, are sometimes found in 
digging wells, mill-dams, &c. in several parts of 
the Territory; and the hornstone dart is not un- 
common. 

Among those objects in the physical appearance 
of this country, which may be looked upon as na- 
tural curiosities, are several caves which yield 
nitre, and a detached mass of granite 15 or 20 
miles in length, by about 5 or 6 in width. This 
n-eological phenomenon occurs in the south part of 
Washington County, including a part of Madison 
County. It contains, imbedded in it, or lying upon 
its surface, gneiss, greenstone, porph) ry, iron ores, 
and pyrites, blende, and quartz ; and may, by a 
careful investigation, be found to yield other sub- 
stances. It is a compact red granite, containing 
very little mica, and is used for mill stones. It is 
the only mass of granite known to exist between 
the primitive ranges of the Alleghany and Rocky 
Mountains, and is surrounded on all sides, and to- 



171 

an almost immeasurable extent, with secondary 
limestone. 

On the banks of the Merrimack and the Gasco- 
nade are found numerous caves, which yield an 
earth impregnated largely with nitre, which is 
procured from it by lixiviation. On the head of 
Currents River are also found several caves, from 
which nitre is procured, the principal of which is 
Ashley's Cave, on Cave Creek, about 80 miles S. W. 
of Potosi. This is one of those stupendous and 
extensive caverns which cannot be viewed without 
exciting our wonder and astonishment ; which is 
increased by beholding the entire works for the 
manufacture of nitre, situated in its interior. The 
native nitrate of potash is found in beautiful white 
crystals, investing the fissures of the limestone 
rock, which forms the wails of this cave ; and 
several others in its vicinity exhibit the same phe- 
nomenon. 

7. Employments, Maimers, Language, and Reli- 
gion of the Inhabitants. Of the number of inhabi- 
tants now resident in the Territory, 1 have esti- 
mated eleven hundred to be engaged in mining, 
but the number has been muv.h greater at a former 
period, one thousand men having been employed 
at Mine a Burton alone. The residue of the popu- 
lation are farmer?, mechanics, and manufacturers, 
including professional men. There is also another 
class of society, which 1 shall notice under the 
name of hunters. The farming class is by far the 
largest; as the fertility of the soil, and the advan- 
tages of procuring lands on easy terms, and in a 
mild climate, afford the strongest and surest pros- 






t 



172 

pects of gain to the emigrant. There are probably 
fewer mechanics than is required by the existing 
population, and of this number a great proportion 
may be considered persons who lack industry, or 
do not excel in their particular trades. The wages 
of mechanics of all kinds are very high, and a 
scarcity of this class is generally felt in the Terri- 
tory, and particularly in the new settlements. A 
carpenter, or a bricklayer, cannot be hired to 
work short of $2 per day, but are often known to 
receive more. Other mechanics are also in de- 
mand, and an opportunity is presented, by the 
rapidly increasing settlements, for good, industri- 
ous mechanics, from all parts, who cannot fail to 
meet with due encouragement and success. 

Its manufactures, in addition to its grand staple, 
Lead, consist in the distillation of whiskey from 
rye and corn, in the flouring of wheat, the fabrica- 
tion of coarse cotton goods, and tow cloth in pri- 
vate families, and of patent shot, three manufacto- 
ries of which are established in Jefferson County. 
Some white lead has been made at St. Louis, and 
boards and plank for building, are sawed on the 
Gasconade, and in other parts of the Territory. 
A clothiers and fuller's works have been recently 
established on Big River, and a number of tan 
yards, where raw hides are manufactured into 
leather, are distributed in various sections of the 
country. 

Made up of emigrants from all other parts of 
the United States, and from Europe, the inhabi- 
tants of this Territory can hardly be said to have 
acquired a uniform character. Hospitality to 



173 

strangers, enterprise in business, ardour in the 
pursuit of wealth, an elevated pride of country, 
and perseverance, under the pressure of many 
difficulties growing out of the infant state of settle- 
ments, are the most conspicuous traits in the cha- 
racter of the inhabitants west of the Mississippi. 
They are robust, frank, and daring. Taught by 
the hardships and dangers incident to a frontier 
settlement, to depend for security and success up- 
on their own individual exertions, they rely little 
upon extraneous help, and feel that true inde- 
pendence, flowing from a conviction that their 
own physical exertions are equal to every call, 
necessity, and emergency of life. Observations 
drawn from habitual intercourse, and from wit- 
nessing their public debates, would also lead us 
to conclude, that their enjoyments arise more from 
those active and tumultuous scenes attendant upon 
war and adventures, which require corporeal ex- 
ertion, than from the arts of peace, refinement, and 
intellectual research. Hence their manners, con- 
trasted with the inhabitants east of the Alleghany, 
may be said to be essentially different, and while 
in their extremes, we see the former verge towards 
the bold and the intrepid, the latter has a tenden- 
cy towards effeminacy. 

Duelling is prevalent in Missouri, and while the 
practice continues to receive the sanction of men 
occupying the first rank in society, it cannot be 
expected to fall into disrepute; but must,on the con- 
trary, continue to extend its baneful influence over 
other classes of community, and to involve in some 



174 

measure, those in its consequences, who are prin- 
cipled to oppose it. 

Those scenes of riot and atrocity, however, 
which have been imputed to the inhabitants of 
the mines, by former travellers, do not now exist; 
the most beneficial changes having been effected 
in the state of society, in that country. Emigra- 
tion has added to the former population an acces- 
sion of talents and intelligence, which has served 
to mark the society at the mines, with much of 
the hospitality, decorum, and refinements of life. 

The first inhabitants of this part of ancient Lou- 
isiana, were French and Spanish ; the former of 
whom still constitute a considerable proportion of 
the population, but of the latter, there are very 
few remaining. The French language is therefore 
spoken in many settlements, almost exclusively, 
and many of the Americans have found it advan- 
tageous to acquire a knowledge of that tongue. 

The most prevalent religion is Methodism. The 
French are uniformly members of the Roman 
Catholic church. They have public churches at 
St. Louis, St. Charles, St. Genevieve, Carondolet, 
Florrissant, and other places. The Baptists are 
also numerous, and the recentemigration has added 
a considerable number of Presbyterians and Epis- 
copalians, but the latter have not, so far as my ob- 
servation extends, any houses for public worship. 

The hunter population in the territory, presents 
a state of society of which few have any just con- 
ception, and of which, indeed, I confess myself to 
have been wholly ignorant, previous to my tour 
through those regions where they are located. 



175 

Composed of the unruly and the vicious from all 
quarters, insulated by a pathless wilderness, with- 
out the pale of civil law, or the restraints upon 
manners and actions imposed by refined society, 
this population are an extraordinary instance of 
the retrogression of society. So far as is not ne- 
cessary for animal existence, they have abandon- 
ed the pursuit of agriculture, the foundation of 
civil society, and embraced the pursuit of hunting, 
so characteristic of the savage state in all countries. 

This society is composed of persons from vari- 
ous sections of the Union, who have either embra- 
ced hunting from the love of ease or singularity, 
or have fled from society to escape the severity of 
the laws, and to indulge in unrestrained passion* 
Learning and religion are alike disregarded, and 
in the existing state of society among the Missouri 
hunters, we are presented with a contradiction of 
the theories of philosophers of all ages, for ive here 
behold the descendants of enlightened Europeans in a sa- 
vage state, or at least in a rapid state of advance to- 
wards it. These hunters are chiefly located on 
White River, Arkansaw, and Red River. Their 
numbers may be computed at 1000 or 1500. The 
late division of territory will throw them nearly all 
into Arkansaw. 

VIII. Savages. The principal tribe of Indians 
>u this territory are the Osages, a powerful nation 
residing on the Osage river. They are remarka- 
ble for their tall stature, and their fine proportions. 
It is very rare to see any of them under six feet. 
They inhabit a delightful country, and are in ami- 
ty with the United States. The chiefs are heredi- 



176 

tary, and in war they fight on horseback. Their 
warriors are called braves, to which honour no one 
can arrive, without having previously plundered 
or stolen from the enemy. Hence plundering and 
stealing are acts of the greatest merit, and demand 
rewards proportionate to the adroitness or the ex- 
tent of the act. They are also in the habit of plun- 
dering white hunters, and travellers, but are never 
known to commit murders on such occasions. 

A part of the ancient, and once powerful tribes 
of Shawanees and Delawares, also inhabit this 
territory. They are located on the banks of Apple 
Creek, and Fourche a Courtois. 

IX. Slavery. Many of the plantations and mines 
are worked by slaves, and among them are to be 
found blacksmiths and carpenters, whose services 
are extremely valuable to their masters. The in- 
troduction of slavery into this section of the wes- 
tern country, appears to have taken place at an 
early day, and it has led to a state of society 
which is calculated to require their continued as- 
sistance. 



ARTICLE II* 



A CATALOGUE OF THE MINERALS AND FOSSILS 



OF THE 



WESTERN COUNTRY. 



1. Earthy Substances, 



Sub. 

Chalk, 1 

Flint, 2 

Hornstone, . . . 3 

Rock Crystal, 4 

Novaculite, 5 

Common Quartz, 6 

Citrine, 7 

Radiated Quartz, 8 

Red Ferruginous Quartz, . . 9 

Granular Quartz 10 

Tabular Quartz, 11 

Hoary Quartz, 12 

Steatite, .13 

Mica, 14 

Chalcedony, ,24 

Reddle, ..... 36 

Yellow Earth, 37 

Opalized Wood, 38 

Agaric Mineral, 39 

Plastic White Clay, ..... .40 

Fuller's Earth, .41 

23 



Sub, 

Stalactite, 43 

Stalagmite 44 

Puddingstone, 45 

Opal, ...4G 

Jasper, 47 

Agatized Wood, 48 

Carnelian, 49 

Sulphate of Lime, 57 

Sulphate of Barytes, 15 

Fluate of Lime, 17 

Feldspar, 18 

Calcareous Spar, ........ 16 

Basanite, 60 

Buhrstone, 67 

Onyx Agate, 65 

Greenstone Porphyry, ... .61 

Schorl, 62 

Ochre, 63 

Agate, 64 

Shale,. 66 



178 



Native Iron, 69 

Sulphuret of Lead, 27 

Sulphuret of Zinc, • • 30 

Red Oxyd of Iron, 26 

Iron Sand, 25 

Brown Hematite, 21 

Native Magnet, 20 

Argillaceous Oxyd of Iron, 22 
Micaceous Oxyd of Iron, . .23 



2. Metallic Substances. 

Sub. i Sub. 

Iron Pyrites, .19 

Granular Sulphuret of Lead, 28 

Earthy Oxyd of Lead 29 

Carbonate of L ad, 33 

Sulphuret of Antimony, . . . .31 
Black Oxyd of Manganese, 35 

Native copper, 3$ 

Sulph te of Zinc, 53 

Sulphate of Copper, 54 



3. Saline Substances. 



Sub. 

Nitrate of Potash, 52 

Muriate of Soda, 51 



Sub. 
Sulphate of Magnesia, ... .58 
Native Alum, 34 



4. Inflammable and Miscellaneous Substances. 

Sub. I Sub. 

Sulphur, 51 Pumice, 59 

Stone Coal, 56 Madrepore, 42 

Hydrogen, 68 J Graphite, 5& 



A CATALOGUE 



OF 



WESTERN MINERALS, 



I b Chalk. 

This mineral is found in great abundance on the 
.west bank of the Mississippi river, in Cape Girar- 
deau county, Missouri Territory. The traveller 
on ascending the Mississippi from the mouth 
of the Ohio, passes through a country of al- 
luvial formation, until he reaches the head of Tya- 
wapety Bottom, a distance of thirty-five miles. 
Here the first high land presents itself on the west 
bank of the river, in a moderately elevated ridge, 
running from S. E. to N. W. and terminating ab- 
ruptly in the bank of the river, which here runs 
nearly at right angles with the ridge, and 
has been worn away by the action of the water. 
This ridge consists of secondary limestone, 
overlaying a coarse reddish sandstone, and which 
at the lowest stages of the water in summer, is seen 
in huge mis-shapen fragments, at the immediate 
edge of the water, and at intervals nearly half way 
across the river, as well as on the Illinois shore. 
It opposes a difficulty in navigating the river in 
low water with keel boats, and is known among 
boatmen as the Lifth Chain of Rocks. At this place 
several beds of chalk are seen breaking out of the 



hill side, a few feet above the water, and the bank 
of the river is strongly characterized with chalk lor 
a quarter of a mile, in the course of which several 
pits have been opened, and chalk procured for the 
purposes of commerce, so that it is probable one 
continuous bed extends for all that distance. Per- 
vading the chalk, are found thin strata of flint, from 
one to three inches in thickness, and occasionally 
nodules of pure black gun flint, enveloped bj 
chalk, are also found. The chalk appears to be 
of a very fine quality, and considerable quantities 
are annually taken away by traders, and sold in the. 
interior of Missouri and along the Ohio to car- 
penters and others, who make no complaints of its 
quality. Indeed, it appears to me on a compari- 
son, to be fully equal to the foreign chalk. It 
breaks out in masses which possess the compact- 
ness of the hardest chalk, has an earthy fracture, a 
smooth feel, and rubs off with ease, leaving a smooth 
white traceon wood or paper. Chalk also occurs two 
miles below the Grand Tower, on the west bank of 
the Mississippi river, (.'ape Girardeau county, but 
no attempts appear to have been made to open the 
bed, and I can neither speak of its extent or quali- 
ty. This is directly opposite the mouth of Great 
Muddie River, a considerable stream of Illinois. 
2. Flint. 
Imbedded in the chalk of Cape Girardeau, are 
occasionally found nodules of flint, which are en- 
veloped by a hard crust of calcareous carbonate, 
arranged in concentric layers. Its colour is grayish 
black, breaks with a perfectly conchoidal fracture, 
is translucent on the edges, and readily gives fire 
with steel. It wiJ probably be found in quantity 



181 

when the chalk is properly explored, but is at pre- 
sent sparingly dispersed. Strata of flint from one 
to three inches in thickness are also found alter- 
nately with chalk, but it is not of so pure a quali- 
ty, and does not scintillate so plentifully as the 
nodular flint. 

Flint is also found near the head of Bear Creek, 
a stream running into White River nine hundred 
miles above its junction with the Mississippi, in 
Arkansaw Territory. It is here found in nodules 
of considerable size, which break with a conchoi- 
dal fracture, are translucent, of a yellowish brown 
colour, and emit sparks very readily. The hun- 
ters in that region make use of no other flints, and 
they possess the art of chipping them out, which is 
effected with great ease. 1 have not viewed this 
mineral in situ — and know not its geognostic rela- 
tions. Hunters, however, report that it is found 
near limestone rock, and occurs in sufficient quan- 
tity to be worth exploring. 

3. Hornstone. 

This subspecies of quartz, is found imbedded in 
globular and elliptical masses in secondary lime- 
stone, at various places on the west, or Missouri 
bank of the Mississippi, between Cape Girra- 
deau and St. Louis. It may be particularly no- 
ticed at the Grand Tower and Hanging Dog, and it 
is strewed in detached fragments over the uplands 
of Cape Girardeau, St. Genevieve, Madison, Jeffer- 
son, Washington, Lawrence, and St. Louis coun- 
ties. Indeed, so far as obervation goes, it charac- 
terizes all the district of country between the west 
banks of the Mississippi river, and the great prai- 



182 

ries and sand deserts at the foot of the Rocky Moun- 
tains. Its colour is generally brown, with different 
shades of yellow, black, blue, or red. It appears 
nearly allied to flint, into which it is sometimes 
seen passing. It runs also into varieties of jasper, 
chalcedony, and common quartz, and the different 
gradations from well characterized hornstone, un- 
til its distinctive characters are lost in other sub- 
species of quartz, may be distinctly marked. The 
barbs for Indian arrows, frequently found in this re- 
gion, appear to have been chiefly made of horn- 
stone. This mineral is also found in irregular 
rounded masses, imbedded in secondary limestone, 
at the Great Chain of Rocks, Cape Girardeau coun- 
ty, Missouri, and at Choteau's mills in the vicinity 
of St. Louis. 

4. Rock Crystal. 
One of the most noted localities of this mineral 
west of the Mississippi river, is the Hot Springs of 
Ouachitta, (Washitaw,) in Arkansaw Territory. 
At this place numerous pieces of quartz have been 
found, very pure and transparent, and beautifully 
crystallized in six sided prisms, terminated by six 
sided pyramids. The crystals are found detached, 
or adhering to the rock, and from half an inch to 
three inches in length. These springs which pre- 
sent one of the most remarkable phenomenon in 
the western country, both on account of the heat 
of their waters, and the variety of minerals found 
in their vicinity, are situated on Hot Spring 
Creek, a branch of Washitaw river, and six miles 
west of the main road from Cadron to Mount Prai- 
rie, on Red River. According to the late divi- 



183 

sion, they are in Clark county, Arkansaw Terri- 
tory. 

5. JVovacidite. 

A quarry of this mineral, three miles above the 
Hot Springs of Washitaw, has often been noticed by 
travellers for its extent and excellency of its quali- 
ty. A specimen now before me, is of a grayish 
white colour, partaking a little of green, translu- 
cent in an uncommon degree, with an uneven and 
moderately glimmering fracture, and susceptible 
of being scratched by a knife. Oil stones for the 
purpose of honing knives, razors, and carpenters' 
tools, are occasionally procured from this place, 
and considerable quantities have been lately taken 
to New-Orleans. It gives a fine edge, and is consi- 
dered equal to the Turkish oil stone. It appears 
to me, from external character, to contain less 
alumine, and more silex than the common novacu- 
lite, and hence, perhaps, its superiority. 
b\ Common Quartz. 

This mineral is found in veins of from one to 
eight or ten feet wide in the argillaceous rock for- 
mation, in the neighbourhood of the Hot Springs 
of Washitaw. It is also seen in very large masses 
on the south bank of White River, immediately 
opposite the mouth of the Great North Fork of 
White River, or what is called on Robinson's new 
map, Pine River. The character of these rocks 
will not be recognised on a superficial view, for 
they have a gray time-worn appearance, and are 
so much covered by moss, that it was not until I 
had broken off a fragment with a hammer, that I 
discovered them to be white quartz. Pebbles of 



184 

quartz, either white or variously coloured by iron, 
are common on the shores of White River, and 
joined to the purity and transparency of the wa- 
ters, add greatly to the pleasure of a voyage on 
that beautiful river. Quartz pebbles are also very 
abundantly dispersed along the banks of Allegha- 
ny River, from Olean to Pittsburgh, a distance of 
three hundred miles. 

7. Citrine, or Yellow Quartz. 

Water- worn fragments of limpid quartz of a 
yellow colour, and possessing a high lustre and 
great hardness, are found on the banks of the Mis- 
sissippi, at various places between Cape Girar- 
deau and St. Louis. I have many specimens pick- 
ed up near St. Genevieve, Herculaneum, and St. 
Louis. The colour varies from a light orange 
yellow, to a brandy red. They are manifestly 
brought down by the annual Hoods of the river, 
and are probably the production of the Mississippi 
above its junction with the Missouri, but of their 
geological situation, nothing is known. Their 
extreme hardness is one of their most distinguish- 
ing properties. 1 have applied the term Missouri 
Topaz in common conversation. 

8. Radiated Quartz, 

This variety is very common at the lead mines 
of Missouri, and is particularly abundant in 
Washington County, where it is known under the 
popular name of mineral blossom. It was supposed 
by the lead smelters to have a strong affinity for 
lead, but is not much attended to as a sign in 
searching for lead at the present time. It occurs 
in detached pieces on the top of the soil, and at 



183 

irl depth's below, and is sometimes attached to 
rock. Its form is generally that of a hemisphere^ 
consisting of minute layers of chalcedony, covered 
by pyramids of quartz, all radiating from a common 
centre. Sometimes it is mammillary. The speci- 
mens are strewed with more or less profusion over 
every hill in the mine tract, and when found in 
their pristine state, are extremely brilliant and 
beautiful. 

9. Red Ferruginous Quartz, 

Detached fragments and rolled masses of a very 
deep red quartz, resembling some varieties of jas- 
per, are found on several of the tributary streams 
of Merrimack River, Missouri Territory. They 
possess a flinty hardness, and a high vitreous lustre, 
are perfectly opaque, and appear to be quartz co- 
loured by, and combined with iron. Mine a Bur- 
ton Creek, in Washington County*, affords good 
specimens. 

10. Granular Quartz. 

Few persons have travelled from St. Genevieve 
to the Lead mines in Missouri, without noticing the 
remarkable bodies of white sand-stone found eight 
miles from St. Genevieve, on the road to Potosi 
This is granular quartz, of a beautiful appearance, 
easily crushed between the fingers, and falling into 
a very fine even-grained, transparent, quartzose 
sand. It possesses no definable tint of colour, is 
not acted upon by either the nitric or muriatic 
acids, and appears to be an aggregation of minute 
crystals of quartz. It occurs in several caves near 
the road, whose sides are entirely composed of it, 
and its snowy hue, and granular structure give it 

24 



186 

the appearance of refined sugar. It appears ic 
me to Decomposed oi'sikx nearly or quite pure, and 
possesses, as I find on a treatment with potash, 
the property of easy fusibility, a very essential re- 
quisite in the manufacture of glass. A mixture oi 
one part of potash to two of sand, enters readily 
into fusion in a smith's forge, producing a weli 
melted glass, of considerable density, purity, and 
lustre. In glass making, sand is the chief ingre- 
dient. It is melted in a high heat with potash, 
^alts, and lime, which act as a flux to the sand, and 
render the mixture fusible and transparent. But 
it is not every sand which will answer, though it 
may be very fine, and apparently possess the pro- 
perty of easy fusibility. Nor is a sand which is 
proper in the manufacture of window glass, adapt- 
ed for flint glass, which requires a sand of greater 
purity. Hence it becomes an object of the first 
moment, when the establishment of a glass works 
has been determined upon, to find a sand, orothe: 
silicious ingredient possessing the properties ne- 
cessary to the easy and ready production of the 
required article. It is not only necessary that it 
should be capable of producing glass of the desired 
purity, but also that it shall produce it in a stipu- 
lated time, and at a stipulated expense. For 
where it not necessary that the manufacture should 
be carried on to a profit, common quartz, pebbles, 
flint, and any other stones in which silex predomi- 
nates, might be converted into glass ; for the ulti- 
mate result of all ingredients wrought by fire is 
glass. But sand capable of easy vitrification, and 
of being advantageously converted into glass, is 



187 

by no means a common production. Such a sand, 
generally speaking, should consist of fine grains 
of transparent quartz, of a uniform size, neither 
too fine or too coarse, without any perceptible 
shade of colour, and susceptible of ready fusion 
with potash. It should not be contaminated by 
time, iron, or any other earthy or metallic sub- 
stance. When iron exists in combination with 
sands, the colour inclines to green, which will be 
intense or light exactly in proportion to the 
quantum of iron present. The presence of lime 
may be detected by submitting the .sand after 
washing to the nitric or muriatic acids. If an 
effervescence takes place, you may conclude lime 
is one of the constituent ingredients. No sand is 
fit for glass which will effervesce with any of the 
acids, the fluoric excepted. In the manufacture of 
common window glass, technically called cylinder 
glass in the United States, sands are frequently 
employed which are largely impregnated with iron, 
which is nowise detrimental where the colour of 
the ware is not regarded, but on the contrary bene- 
ficial, for the iron which exists in the state of an 
oxyd in combination with the sand operates as a 
flux to the silex, and promotes a more perfect and 
speedy vitrification. The common yellow and 
reddish sands, which occur in almost every town 
and county in the Union, and are used in the ma- 
nufacture of bricks and mortar, and cements, are 
wholly unfit for glass. They are largely charged 
with alumine, besides iron, lime, and various other 
impurities, which communicate different hues of 
green, brown, and black, to the mixture, that 



183 

cannot be removed in the ordinary way by the 
addition of manganese. Such sands are only em- 
ployed in the coarsest branch of the art, namely, 
the making of Black Bottles. 

The choice of proper glass-sands becomes there- 
fore an object of first moment, and their localities 
deserve to be particularly noticed in the catalogue 
of useful minerals afforded by the United States. 
I know of but three localities in the Union, in ad- 
dition to this, where the silicious ingredient of flint 
glass is furnished. The first is in Lanesborough, 
Massachusetts ; the second on the banks of Mau- 
rice River, New-Jersey ; and the third at Perry- 
opolis, on the Youghagany River, twenty-three 
miles above Pittsburgh, in Pennsylvania. 
1 1 . Tabular Quartz. 

The shores of the Mississippi River afford a 
silicious mineral of singular character, in the form 
of small irregular shaped detached plates. Its 
common colour is grayish white, from which it 
passes into bluish white, milk white, and pale yel- 
low. It possesses, in some specimens, the hard- 
ness and translucency of cacholong and chalce- 
dony, to which it seems nearly allied ; while in 
other specimens it resembles certain varieties of 
white carnelian. I have numerous specimens, 
picked up on the west bank of the Mississippi, 
at Herculaneum. Some of these would lead us to 
suppose, that their tabular form had been pro- 
duced by being poured out in a state of fluidity on 
the earth, small pebbles, &c. whose impress re- 
mains on the under side. 



189 



12. Hoary Quartz, 
Among the numerous pieces of radiated quam 
brought from the Missouri Territory, I find two< 
whose external characters are distinct from any of 
the varieties of quartz hitherto described. This 
distinction and difference of character appears 
chiefly on the exterior of the pyramidal prisms of 
which the mass is composed, having the appear- 
ance of being frosted. 

13. Steatite. (Indian Pipe Stone.) 
The Falls of St. Anthony, in the Mississippi 
River, are remarkable for the bodies of steatite 
found there, and from which the savages are in 
the habit of making their pipes. Its colour is an 
uniform dark red, it is compact, and approaches 
in hardness to the softer varieties of serpentine ; 
it is, however, easily sawed by a common handsaw, 
or cut with a knife, when freshly quarried, but 
assumes considerable hardness by long exposure. 
It is not hard enough to take a polish. This was 
called a red serpentine by Carver, who has been 
followed by Pinkerton in his Geography, and by 
Breckenridge in his Views of Louisiana, and the 
error has been countenanced by every succeeding 
traveller who has spoken of it. It is also found 
near the head of the River Desmoines of the Mis- 
sissippi ; and the St. Peters, and Pipe Stone 
Rivers of the Missouri. The vicinity of Fort 
Mason on the Mississippi also affords steatite, 
whose colours are various shades of yellow and 
green intermixed 



a do 

14. Mica. 

This mineral is found at the Hot Springs oi 
Washitaw, Arkansaw Territory. The lamina are 
small, extremely flexible, of a greenish yellow 
colour, and admitting very little light through 
their broader faces. 

15. Sulphate of Barytes. (Heavy Spar.) 

Mine a Burton, Old Mines, Mine Shibboleth, 
and the numerous other mines in Washington 
County, Missouri Territory, are characterized by 
sulphate of barytes. At those mines it forms the 
matrix of the lead ore, though it is sometimes 
found unaccompanied by ores of any kind, and 
the quantity which is found at Potosi alone is 
sufficient, according to our present ideas of its 
uses, for the supply of the whole world. It is 
generally found in compact or tabular masses, 
very white, heavy, and glistening. Sometimes 
it is crested, columnar, prismatic, or lamellar ; 
and frequently the surfaces of the crystals are 
yellow, from an ochery oxyd of iron. All the 
barytes which I have observed in Missouri are 
perfectly opaque. 

1 6. Calcareous Spar. 

This spar is one of the minerals accompanying 
the lead ore at several of the lead mines in Wash- 
ington county, Missouri Territory. It is, however, 
never found in contact with the ore, or serving as 
a matrix, if we except a little found in this situation 
at Bryan's Mines, St. Genevieve county. It is gener- 
ally found in detached masses of irregular shape 
imbedded in the mineral soil, which is a marly red 
clay, and it invariably breaks into rhombs whose 



191 

angles are more or less acute. Its colours are 
either white or honey yellow, it is transparent, and 
some specimens possess the beauty and the double 
refracting power of the Iceland Spar. 
17. Feldspar. 

Crystals of feldspar are found imbedded in 
greenstone on the banks of the river St. Francis, 
at a place called The Narrows, Madison county, 
Missouri Territory. The colour of the crystals is 
a flesh red, graduating into green on the edges 
1 8. Filiate of Lime. 

This mineral occurs at a lead mine about three 
miles back of Cave-in-Rock, on the Ohio River, 
and about fifteen miles south of Shawneetown, 
Gallatin county, Illinois. Its colours, which are 
very beautiful, are various shades of purple, violet, 
and blue. Some specimens are entirely limpid. 
It is found accompanied by galena, blende, pyrites, 
&c. imbedded in a stiff red clay, resting on secon- 
dary limestone. In the same neighbourhood coal 
is found, and the United States Saline, situated on 
Saline River, is about twelve miles distant. It is 
a highly interesting section of country, and well 
worthy the particular attention of the mineralogist 
and the geologist. Cave-in-Rock, famous in that 
region for having afforded a retreat to the bandit 
Mason, and his followers, is alone an object of the 
highest interest, and the intelligent traveller can- 
not fail to be highly gratified in viewing this stu- 
pendous work of nature. The quantity is con- 
siderable ; it has, however, only been observed in 
detached pieces, affecting a cubical form, but no 
compact vein of it has as yet been discovered 



192 

Little doubt, however, can remain, that a search 
of the ground in that vicinity would bring to light 
bodies of it, capable of being wrought into vases- 
and other ornamental works, 

19. Iron Pyrites. 

Unmagnetical pyrites of iron, of a brass yellow 
colour, have been found on the Fourche a Cour- 
tois, and Mineral Fork, two of the tributary 
streams of Merrimack River, Missouri Territory. 
Also on White River, within a hundred miles of 
its source, where it is attached to rock in cubical 
crystals, and is reported to exist in quantity. I 
possess good specimens from each of those places, 
that from the Mineral Fork is connected with cal- 
careous spar. New Diggings, Mine a Burton, Old 
Mines, and Reno's Mines, also yield pyrites of iron, 
sometimes handsomely crystallized in cubes, or 
lameller masses, and sometimes interspersed with 
blende, heavy spar, and galena. 

20. Loadstone. (Native Magnet.) 

This substance is found on the banks of the 
Washitaw River, at a place called the Cove, fifteen 
miles below the Hot Springs, in Clark county, Ar- 
kansaw Territory. The quantity is represented 
as very great, and it possesses a strong magnetic 
power. At the same place, other ores of iron are 
abundant, also pyrites, quartz, white vitriol, &c. 
21. Brown Hematite. 

This ore of iron occurs along with cellular py 
rites, and argillaceous oxyd of iron, five mile* 
north of Strawberry River, on the main road lead 
ing through Lawrence county, Arkansaw, (lately 
Missouri^ Territory. Its colour is a dark brown, and 



193 

its structure is fibrous and glittering; some of its 
masses are columnar, stalactitic, radiated-re- 
niform, or tuberose, and a few tabular masses are 
found, consisting- of alternate strata of red and 
brown hematite. 

22. Common Argillaceous Oxyd of Iron. 

This is the ore which is so abundantly found in 
the independent coal formation, in the vicinity of 
Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, and along the banks 
of the Alleghany and Monongahela Rivers. It is 
worked at several furnaces and founderies in Al- 
leghany, Fayette, Washington, and Armstrong coun- 
ties, and brought down to Pittsburgh by water, to 
supply the extensive founderies of that place. 
Brownsville and Connelsvilie,are particularly cele- 
brated for their iron furnaces. Clay iron stone is 
also the principal ore wrought atZanesville on the 
the Muskingum, (Ohio,) and on Brush Creek, from 
which the foundery at Cincinnati is supplied. 
23. Micaceous Ox yd of Iron. 

A vein of this ore several feet wide, is found in 
red granite, on the banks of the River St. Francis, 
at the Narrows, Madison county, Missouri Territo- 
ry. Its unusual appearance has for several years 
attracted the attention of the inhabitants, who 
have considered it an ore containing silver. It is 
situated four miles south of the extensive lead 
mines of La Motte, and in the centre of a highly in- 
teresting geological and mineralogical section of 
country. The rocks at that place, are the old red 
granite, in mountain masses, with some veins of 
greenstone, greenstone porphyry, and gneiss. 
This is the only body of granite rock in the inha- 
25 



194 

bited part of Missouri Territory, and extends for 
about twenty miles, with an average breadth of 
six miles. Its course is from S. E. to N. W. 

This granitic range, terminates in very rough 
and broken highlands, in the south part of Belle- 
vue, Washington county, and serves as the matrix 
or accompanying rock to some of the most exten- 
sive and remarkable bodies of micaceous iron ore, 
that the globe contains. The most noted body is 
called the Iron Mountain, where the ore lies in 
such quantity, as to form a lofty ridge, elevated 
from five to six hundred feet above the plain, and 
for half a mile in extent. It is a very brilliant, 
heavy ore, crystallized in glittering lamina. Some 
specimens are either mixed with, or accompanied 
by compact red oxyd of iron and quartz. It melts 
easily, yielding a very malleable iron, and a foun- 
dery for working the ore, is now in contemplation. 
24. Chalcedony. 
The banks of the Mississippi river at Hercula- 
neum afford specimens of this mineral, which I 
consider to be well characterized. It is also found 
in abundance on the west side of Establishment 
Creek, St. Genevieve county, Missouri Territory, 
where it is seen passing into the onyx agate. Its 
colour is a bluish white, which is sometimes ex- 
changed for milk white, yellowish white, or brown- 
ish yellow. It is semi-transparent, and strikes fire 
with steel. Some pieces exhibit spots, zones, or 
dendrites. 

Chalcedony is also found at the lead mines in 
Washington county, Missouri, where it serves as 
the basis for much of the radiated and mammillary 
quartz so common there. The chalcedony appears 



195 

in concentric layers of various colours, principally 
bluish white, from which the crystals of quartz 
have shot out. The alternating layers are some- 
times yellow, brown, or red. 

25. Iron Sand. 

This ore of iron is afforded by the banks of the 
Arkansaw River, near where the main road to Red 
River crosses. It occurs in the aggregated form. 
Its colour is a dark chocolate brown, nearly black, 
and the masses present small cavities filled with 
a very fine orange yellow ochery oxyd of iron. 
26. Red Oxyd of Iron. 

A fine red oxyd of iron, in the powdery state, 
and mixed with small fragments of quartz, is found 
in a bank on Flint River, a small stream which en- 
ters the Tennessee above the Muscle Shoals. The 
inhabitants employ it as an ingredient in dying. It 
is also found near the head of Gasconade River, a 
tributary of the Missouri, and on a journey into the 
interior last winter, I brought from thence speci- 
mens of a compact red oxyd of iron, of a very high 
colour. It is also found very hard and compact 
on Elk River, in Tennessee, and occasionally ac- 
companying the micaceous oxyd of iron of Belle- 
■vue. 

27. Galena. Sulphuret of Lead. 

The most important locality of lead ore, which 
the United States, or the world contains, is fur- 
nished by the metalliferous limestone of Missouri 
Territory, and which breaks out, or has been ex- 
plored at various places from the banks of the Ar- 
kansaw to Prairie Du Chien on the Mississippi, a 
distance, in a direct line from south to north, of 



196 

seven hundred miles. On this vein, are situated 
the numerous mines in Washington, St. Genevieve, 
Madison, and Jefferson counties, which form the 
subject of the preceding Treatise. These mines 
were first explored by the renowned Mississippi 
Company, A. D. 1719, and have continued to be 
worked during the successive changes which it 
has experienced under the French, Spanish, and 
Americans, to the present period. 1 he number 
of mines now wrought, is forty-six, the principal of 
which, are Mine a Burton, Mine Shibboleth, Mine 
La Moite, Richwoods, Bryan's Mines, and New 
Diggings; and the quantity of lead annually smel- 
ted, is estimated at three millions of pounds. The 
ore is the common galena, with a broad glittering 
grain, and bluish gray colour, and is found accom- 
panied by sulphate of barytes, blende, pyrites, 
quartz, and calcareous spar. It yields on assay 
eighty -two per cent, of metallic lead, and the 
remainder is chieily sulphur. 

Galena is also found at Prairie Du Chien, five 
hundred m:ies above St. Louis, on the Mississippi, 
where it is -worked by the savages. Also at Austin's 
Mines, in Weythe county, Virg. — At Millersburgh, 
and Drennon's Lick, in Kentucky. — At Cave-in- 
Rock, accompanied by fluor spar, in Illinois. — On 
the Osage, Strawberry, St. Francis, and Gascon- 
ade rivers, in Missouri. — And on White River, 
and the Arkansaw River, in Arkansaw Territory. 
28. Granular Sulphuret of Lead. 

This variety of galena occurs in thin strata in 
clay, at Mine La Motte, Madison county, Missouri 
Territory. It lias a lead gray colour, which gra- 



197 

duates into black, has a granular structure, some 
of the grains being splendent, but is generally dull 
and earthy, from mixture with oxyd of iron, and 
green carhonat of copper. It is worked as an ore 
of lead, along with the common galena, which 
is the most abundant ore at those mines. 
29. Earthy Oxyd of Lead. 

At the lead mines at Austinville, in Weythe 
county, Virginia, a yellow earthy oxyd of lead has 
recently been found among the rubbish of former 
diggings, which is found to yield a sufficient quan- 
tity of metal to render the smelting a work of pro- 
fit. From its earthy appearance, it had been 
thrown out of the mines among clay and gravel, 
without attracting notice. Its general colour is a 
brownish yellow,from which it passes to a clay-red 
greenish yellow, or ash-gray. Some of the most 
compact specimens appear to have a crystalline 
structure. Its appearance is generally that of an 
oxyd, or earth deposited in strata from suspen- 
sion in water. 

30. Blende, Sulphuret of Zinc. 

Accompanying the lead ores of several mines in 
Washington county, Missouri Territory, is found a 
sulphuret of zinc, which is the blackjack or mock lead 
of miners. As instances, Mine Reno, and Old Mines, 
may be mentioned. It is not worked as an ore, 
but when met with in digging for lead, is thrown 
by as useless. 

31. Sulphuret of Antimony. 

A piece of antimonial ore was picked up seve- 
ral years ago in Bellevue, Washington county, 
Missouri, but no body has yet been brought to 
light. About thirty miles north of Edwardsville, 



193 

in Illinois, a body of antimony was discovered by 
a volunteer militiaman during the late war, and 
specimens of it were distributed to several gentle- 
men in the neighbourhood of St. Louis. 

32. Copper. (Native.) 

A mass of native copper weighing seven pounds, 
and another weighing three pounds, have been 
discovered on the highlands back of Harrisonville, 
the seat of justice for Monroe county, Illinois. 
Some attempts have also been made to make a 
discovery of copper ore at that place, and a shaft 
was sunk about forty feet deep, in the summer of 
of 1 8 i 7 ; but rainy weather commencing in the fall 
of that year, the shaft was abandoned, and has not 
since been occupied. In digging that depth, a red 
compact oxyd of iron and copper was found, and 
there is reason to conclude, that ores of copper 
will be found in that neighbourhood. Native cop- 
per has also been found on Big Muddie River, in 
Illinois. 

Of the bodies of native copper which exist on 
the head of the Mississippi, and along the shores 
of Lake Superior, I can add nothing, in this place, 
respecting locality, riches or extent, which has 
not already been published. I did not extend my 
tour into those regions, and do not think I should 
add any thing to the stock of useful information, by 
communicating several reports which I have from 
hunters and traders on that subject. 

33. Carbonate of Lead. 

1 possess several specimens of carbonat of Lead, 
from Mine a Burton, in Missouri, and Cave-in- 
Rock, Illinois. At the latter place it occurs as a 



199 

crust upon galena, and is also most frequently met 
with in that form at Mine a Burton. 
34. Alum. 

There is a cave in Bellevue, Washington Coun- 
ty, Missouri Territory, which yields alum. It is 
found effloresced. 

35. Manganese. 

On travelling into the interior, six days' journey 
S. W. of Potosi, I found a large body of black 
oxyd of manganese, situated near the head of 
Merrimack River, Missouri Territory. It is ac- 
companied by ores of iron. 

This ore of manganese is also found onthedividing 
ridge of land between Spring River and the River 
Eleven-points, in Lawrence County, Arkansaw 
Territory. It is also accompanied by ores of iron, 
is very black, and soils the fingers like soot 
Another body of manganese occurs on Big Sandy 
River, nearGreenupsburgh, in Kentucky. 
36. Reddle. (Red Chalk.) 

This mineral occurs in a bed of considerable 
extent in Washington County, Missouri. It is soft 
enough to take a polish from the nail ; of a dark 
red colour, and leaves a smooth red trace on 
wood or paper. 

37. Yellmv Earth. 

A mineral substance which would readily be 
mistaken for yellow ochre {ochery oxyd of iron) is 
frequently met with in digging for lead ore at the 
Missouri Lead mines. It appears, however, to 
contain too much clay to be considered as an ore 
of iron, though it is of a beautiful yellow colour, 
and would probably prove useful as a pigment. 



200 

A similar substance is also found near the Chalk 
banks on the west side of the Mississippi River, 
in Cape Girardeau County, where a kind of red 
ochre is also found. 

38. Opalized Wood. 
The banks of the Missouri and of the Mississip- 
pi afford a mineral substance, which appears to 
have originated from the penetration of silicious 
matter into wood, by which process the vegetable 
character has been entirely exchanged for the 
mineral. A ligneous origin is however observable. 
It is very hard, semi-transparent, and possesses the 
colour of the opal. It is accompanied by the 
common agatized wood of the Missouri, by yellow 
quartz, and by chalcedony. The pieces are com- 
monly small, and in the form of a parallelogram. 
They are distributed very plentifully along the 
shores of the Mississippi, between St. Genevieve 
and St. Louis, Missouri Territory. 
39. Agaric Mineral. 
A soft spongy substance, of a gray colour, and 
soiling the fingers, which appears to be a pure 
carbonate of lime, is found as a sediment in a 
spring, in St. Clair County, Illinois. 

40. Plastic White Clay. 
In digging several pits in search of lead ore at 
Gray's Mine, Jefferson County, Missouri, a body of 
white clay was struck at the depth of from 8 to 10 
feet, and no ore was found at those places, but the 
pits and diggings in that place were abandoned 
in consequence of the clay which covered a con- 
siderable area of ground on the banks of Big 
River, which is one of the principal tributaries of 



201 

the Merrimack. This clay is snow white, has a 
smooth soapy feel, takes a polish from the nail, 
adheres strongly to the tongue, becomes plastic 
by mixture with water, retains its hue in the fire, 
and is infusible in a very high heat. I have em- 
ployed it in crucibles, in assays, where an intense 
heat was given, with discovering any other 
signs of fusion but such as are common to the 
best Hessian crucibles ; and it is probable it may 
prove valuable in the manufacture of pottery, and 
particularly of glass-house pots, which require a 
clay of the utmost purity and infusibility. 

Another bed of plastic white clay, which ap- 
pears to be adapted for the manufacture of glass- 
house pottery, is found on the Muskingum River, 
at Zanesville, Ohio. It is white, partaking a little 
of blue. It has a smooth, soponaceous feel, ap- 
pears free from sand or grit, adheres strongly to 
the tongue, and exhibits some other characters 
which distinguish good, infusible clay. A speci- 
men of this mineral in my possession bears a strong 
resemblance to the clay of the Rhine, which is 
brought over from Germany for the same purpose. 
Yet the Zanesville clay has not been successfully 
introduced into our western glass-houses, although 
those concerned in the manufacture feel sensibly 
the want of a bed of refractory clay west of the 
Alleghany mountains, as they are compelled to 
pay very large sums every year for the transporta- 
tion of clay from Philadelphia. They complain 
that the pots split open in the fire, but add, that 
it endures the most intense heat without fusion. I 
am inclined to believe their want of complete sue | 

26 



202 

cess is less attributable to the qualities of the clay, 
than to the skill which has been exercised in mak- 
ing use of it. In the manufacture of pots, a portion 
of the clay is always burnt in a high heat, then 
ground in a mill to a powder, and mixed with a 
quantity of the crude clay in the state of powder, with 
water. This burning deprives the clay of its prin- 
ciple of plasticity, i. e. converts it into a sort of clay 
stone, which, when ground to powder, has the same 
effect as adding refractory sand, namely, prevent- 
ing its shrinkage and liability to crack, and hasp 
this additional advantage, that it does not render 
the composition fusible, as sands do. When a pot 
splits open in the furnace, it is an evidence that 
the mixture is too rich. It has not enough burnt 
clay. No clay can be too pure, or too refractory, 
but in the technical phrase of the glass-house, it 
can be too rich. The precise proportion of burnt, 
to unburnt clay, in using individual qualities, is a 
matter of considerable importance, and no invari- 
able rule can be given to suit all clays, for when- 
ever a new clay is introduced, preliminary trials on 
different mixtures of it will be found necessary. 
Generally, however, such a quantity of crude clay 
should be taken as will communicate to the whole 
mass enough of the plastic principle to make it 
stick w< 11 together, and knead into a compact 
mass. Nothing more is required ; and any re- 
dundancy in the crude clay renders the pot liable 
to shrink and crack when it comes to be exposed 
to the intense heat of the furnace. A thorough 
acquaintance with the nature of the clays employ- 
ed, is therefore necessary ; and there is no branch 



203 

of the manufacture in which more skill is required, 
or in which artists are oftener deceived. It is 
from these circumstances, and knowing how soon 
artists are discouraged by the failure of an experi- 
ment on a new substance, that I am disposed to 
believe the Zanesville clay has not had a fair trial. 
I may, however, be deceived ; since the external 
character of a clay or other mineral body, though 
a general, is not an infallible rule to judge by ; 
and there is no result more conclusive than that of 
a manufactory in the large way, provided the ex- 
periment has been skilfully conducted, and all the 
circumstances accurately minuted. 
41. Fullers' Earth. 
The essential ingredients of this earth are silex 
and alumine ; and its excellency for the purpose 
of fulling cloth appears to consist in the fineness 
of the particles of which it is composed, and the 
intimacy with which they are combined. The 
banks of the Mississippi are chiefly silex and alu 
mine combined with variable proportions of vege- 
table matter, and afford all gradations from very 
coarse to very fine. The finer kinds, and such as 
are not contaminated with vegetable mould, are a 
kind of fullers' earth, and it appears in some places 
exceedingly fine and well characterized. On as- 
cending the Mississippi from the mouth of Ohio to 
St. Louis, it may be particularly observed in low 
water, as one of the under strata of Tyawapatie 
and Bois Brula Bottoms. The great field of St. 
Genevieve, where it forms the bank of the river, 
contains some very fine strata of fullers' earth. 



204 

which are only observable in a low stage of the 
water. 

42. Madrepore. 

This animal petrifaction is found near Cave-in- 
Rock, Gallatin County, Illinois, in a rounded mass, 
consisting of columnar hexagonal prisms diverging 
from a centre. Its colour is a brownish yellow, 
and the columns, which are inverted pyramids, 
appear to have been hollow at some former period, 
and are now filled with a hard white silicious 
matter. 

43. Stalactite. 

Stalactites are found abundantly in several caves 
on Cave Creek, one of the head waters of Currents 
River, in Missouri Territory. These caves are at 
present situated in the wilderness, about 80 miles 
S. W. of Potosi, in the vicinity of Ashley's Saltpetre 
Cave. The Stalactitse are found in concretions re- 
sembling icicles hanging from the roof,or in columns 
reaching to the floor, and present a variety of imita- 
tive forms. Some specimens are translucent, and the 
cause which has produced them is removed, the 
dropping has ceased, and the caves are generally 
dry, affording now an earth richly impregnated with 
saltpetre, and this salt is also found effloresced 
on the rocks, very white and fine. Stalactites are 
also found in a very large cave on Findley's Fork, 
one of the tributaries of White River, ArkansaAv 
Territory. They are in enormous columns, and 
the floor of the cave is covered by stalagmites, 
from the size of a pea to many tons weight. 
44. Stalagmite. (Calcareous Alabaster.) 

The cave which has just been mentioned on 
Findley's Fork, affords stalagmite sufficiently 



205 

large, compact, and beautiful, for the sculptor's 
chisel, and would undoubtedly afford some fine 
specimens of alabaster. 

45. Puddingstonc. 

This mineral is dispersed along the shores of 
the Alleghany River, between the mouth of French 
Creek and Pittsburgh. It is generally a conglome- 
ration of coarse grains of quartz, or silicious peb- 
bles, cemented by silex or ferruginous clay. That 
river may also afford specimens which run into a 
kind of breccia, though I possess no well charac- 
terized specimens. And there is also evidence of 
the existence of sienite. Pebbles of white quartz 
are very common all along this river. The west 
bank of the Ohio at Fort Massac in Illinois, and at 
" America," 10 miles above its mouth, afford Pud- 
dingstone consisting of quartzy pebbles cemented 
by iron. Also, the Chalk banks at Cape Girardeau 
on the Mississippi. 

46. Opal. 

I possess a single specimen of precious opal, 
which was procured near Cave-in-Rock, Gallatin 
County, Illinois. Its colour is milk white shaded 
with blue ; it is incapable of being scratched by 
steel or acted on by acids, is semi-transparent in a 
high degree, and epaksces on holding it up to the 
light. The colour it most constantly displays is a 
reddish yellow. The place in which it was found 
is remarkable for producing fluor-spar, galena, 
blende, pyrites, coal, salt, madrepore, calcareous 
spar, &c. It belongs to the great secondary lime- 
stone formation of the valley of the Ohio, and the 
rocks are cavernous, one of the most remarkable 



206 

of which appears in a high bluff of limestone rock 
on the bank of the river, and generally known as 
the Cave-in-Rock. Sometimes small caverns in 
this vicinity on being broken into, yield large 
quantities of galena unaccompanied by a matrix, 
but lying loose among dusty particles in the bottom 
of the cave, and their appearance would lead u$ 
to suppose that the matrix had decayed and dissi- 
pated, leaving the ore behind. 

47. Jasper. (Common and Striped.) 

Several specimens of this mineral, now before 
me, were picked up along the banks of the Mis- 
sissippi, between St. Genevieve and St. Louis. — 
There is a variety in their colour. The first is a 
uniform bottle green, very hard, and susceptible of 
a high polish. The second is the fragment of 
a nodular mass, consisting of alternate concentric 
stripes of green, brown, and yellow, the colours 
passing by imperceptible shades into each other. 
A specimen found in Potosi consists of alternate 
stripes of rose and flesh red. Of their original 
situation nothing is known, as they appear to be 
rolled fragments out of place, but may be presum- 
ed to be the product of some of the tributary 
streams of the Mississippi. 

I had, however, the satisfaction to find this mi- 
neral in its proper situation during a journey into 
the interior of Missouri. It is found as a stratum 
in secondary limestone, in the bed of Cave Creek, 
near the head of Currents River, in Missouri Terri- 
tory, and about 80 miles S. W. of Potosi. Its co- 
lours are blue and white striped. 



207 

48. Agatized Wood, 
Is found dispersed along the shores of the 
Mississippi and Missouri very plentifully, and 
good specimens may be obtained near Hercula- 
neum and St. Louis. 

49. Carnelian. 
Accompanying the jasper, yellow, and tabular 
quartz, agatized wood, &c. found on the shores 
of the Mississippi, some small masses of a very 
beautiful carnelian are occasionally met with. 
They are very transparent, hard and brilliant, and 
of various shades of red and yellow, sometimes 
arranged in concentric zones, alternating with 
white; some specimens are dendritic. These last 
would be considered as agates, were they not pos- 
sessed of a glassy transparency. 
50. Sulphur, 
A spring exists in Jefferson county, Missouri, 
the waters of which are highly charged with sul- 
phur, which it deposites on the stones over which 
it runs. Salt springs are found within a few r miles 
of it, but no gypsum has as yet been brought to 
light. An idea of its beneficial effects in bilious 
complaints is generally prevalent, and the springs 
form a resort for the surrounding inhabitants, who 
drink copiously of the water. 

51. Muriate of Soda. (Common Salt.) 
The principal works for the manufacture of salt 
in the western country, are seated on the Seweet- 
iy and Scioto Rivers, in Ohio ; on the Great Kan- 
haway, in Virginia; on Saline River in Illinois ; at 
St. Genevieve, and Boon's Lick, in Missouri ; and 
on the Arkansaw and Washitaw Rivers, in Arkan- 



208 

saw. About 150,000 bushels per annum, is made 
at the United States Saline in Illinois, which is 
sold at seventy cents per bushel at the works. 
There are two salt springs in Jefferson count)*, 
Missouri, where salt is manufactured, but the 
works are small. The springs on the Arkansaw, 
are reported to exceed any hitherto discovered, 
for their extent and the strength of the water. 
The existence of native rock salt in this region, is 
still a matter of doubt, but it appears probable 
that it does exist. In travelling among the hunters 
and Indians in the interior of Missouri, I made fre- 
quent inquiries respecting the rock salt reported 
to exist near the banks of the Arkansaw, and was 
told by several that such salt did exist in what 
they term the Pawnee Mountains ; that they had seen 
and used of it, that it was white and clear like 
alum, and the white hunters added, that the Paw- 
nee and Osage Indians, were in the habit of pro- 
curing their salt from that spot. 

§2. Nitrate of Potash. (Salt Petre.) 
Three saltpetre caves are worked in Washing- 
ton county, Missouri Territory. They are situa- 
ted on the Merrimack. Several caves are also 
worked on the Gasconade River, and a very ex- 
tensive one, which I visited last winter, on the 
head of Currents River, on a stream, which 
from the numerous caves upon it, I have called 
Cave Creek. In travelling in that region, it is com- 
mon to find crystallized nitre filling the small cre- 
vices of limestone rock, and there are few caves 
which do not afford traces of this salt. 



209 

53. Sulphate of Zinc. (White Vitriol.) 

On the authority of Dr. Andrews, of Mount Prai- 
rie, on Red River, I mention the existence of na- 
tive sulphate of zinc, on Washitaw River, in Clark 
county, Arkansaw Territory. It is found in a high- 
ly interesting section of country, about fifteen 
miles below the Hot Springs, and which also af- 
fords iron, loadstone, novaculite, quartz, mica, 
&c. The rock formation is argillaceous slate, tra- 
versed by veins of white quartz. 

54. Sulphate of Copper. (Blue Vitriol.) 

On the authority quoted in the preceding article, 
I also mention the existence of native sulphate of 
copper at the same place, and a saline substance, 
which answers the purpose of Glauber's salts. 
55. Graphite. (Plumbago.) 

The vicinity of Mine La Motte, Madison county. 
Missouri Territory, affords specimens of graphite. 
It is also found on Big River, in the county of St. 
Genevieve, quantity small. Since my return from 
Missouri, I am informed by letter, that a very large 
body of plumbago has been discovered twelve 
miles south of Potosi in Washington county. 
56. Coal. 

Coal is abundant at Pittsburgh, in Pennsylva- 
nia. It is found directly opposite the city, on 
Coal Hill, from which the founderies, and glass- 
works are supplied. — On the Alleghany River, 
at various places as high up as Kittanning, and 
along the Monongahela, nearly to its source. It is 
a coarse coal, very black and shining, sometimes 
beautif illy irised, with a slaty uneven fracture, a 
moderate weight and hardness, and perfectly bi- 

27 



210 

luminous. It inflames easily, burns with a pitchy 
smoke, and bituminous smell, and throws out a 
great heat. It occurs in veins in secondary lime- 
stone, along with argillaceous slate, indurated 
clay, red sandstone, and bituminous shale, which 
are arranged in alternate strata, one above the 
other, and preserving an exact parrallelism with 
the waters of the Alleghany, Monongahela, and 
Ohio Rivers. The coal always constitutes a vein 
between the shale and clay which are found im- 
mediately above and below it. The clay appears 
to have originated from the decomposition of 
shale, for it may be observed in all stages of the 
decomposition from a well characterized argilla- 
ceous slate to plastic clay. 

The veins of coal are from a foot to nine feet in 
thickness, and the strata of coal, shale, limestone, 
&c. are repeated, so that the sides of the hills which 
afford coal, exhibit several strata, with the rock 
intervening, one above another. The greatest 
distance in a perpendicular direction from one 
stratum to another, is perhaps one hundred feet, 
and such is the regularity of the coal formation in 
this region, that the description of one pit or bed, 
will apply almost equally to any other, within a 
circuit of two hundred miles, every section of 
which is more or less characterized by coal. It 
generally breaks out on side hills, as on the coalhilh 
at Pittsburgh ; and those hills are elevated many 
hundred feet above the waters, so that they are 
easily worked, requiring no machinery for pump- 
ing out water, &c. Sometimes pyrites of a tin 
white colour are found mixed among the coal, and 



211 

argillaceous iron ore, well adapted for working iu 
the blast furnace, is one of the alternating strata. 
Coal is also dug at Zanesville, and Galliopolis. 
in Ohio, at Wellsburgh and Wheeling in Virginia, 
at Maysville and on Trade-Water River in Ken- 
tucky, at Alton in Illinois, and at Florissant and 
on Osage River in Missouri. 

57. Sulphate of Lime. (Gypsum.) 
This earthy salt is found in the crystallized 
form, in St Clair county, Illinois. It is also found 
on the south bank of the Arkansaw, near the Sa- 
lines situated in that country. The quantity is 
immense, and there is an unusual proportion in the 
crystallized and transparent form. Mr. Sibley who 
visited that part of the country several years ago, 
in giving a description of it, says, — " It is a tract 
of about seventy-five miles square, in which na- 
ture has arranged a variety of the most strange 
and whimsical vagaries. It is an assemblage of 
beautiful meadows — verdant ridges, and rude mis- 
shapen piles of red clay, thrown together in the 
utmost apparent confusion, yet affording the most 
pleasing harmonies, and presenting in every direc- 
tion an endless variety of curious and interesting- 
objects. After winding along for a few miles on 
the high ridges, you suddenly descend an almost 
perpendicular declivity of rocks and clay, into a 
series of level and fertile meadows, watered by 
some beautiful rivulets, and here and there adorned 
with shrubby cotton trees, elms, and cedars. These 
meadows are divided by chains formed of red clay, 
and huge masses of gypsum, with here and there 
a pyramid of gravel. One might imagine himself 



212 

surrounded by the ruins of some ancient city, and 
that the plain had sunk by some convulsion of na- 
ture more than one hundred feet below its former 
level, for some of the huge columns of red clay rise 
to the height of two hundred feet perpendicular, 
capped with rocks of gypsum, which the hand of 
time is ever crumbling off, and strewing in beauti- 
ful transparent flakes, along the declivities of 
the hill, glittering like so many mirrors in the sun. v 
58. Sulphate of Magnesia. 

This salt occurs in beautiful white crystals, in a 
cave near Corydon, the present seat of government 
of Indiana. 

59. Pumice. 

This volcanic mineral is annually brought down 
the Missouri River, by the flood which generally 
happens in June. Of its origin we know nothing. 
Hunters speak of a mountain emitting smoke and 
flames on the head of the River Kanzas. The 
same phenomenon is reported to exist on the wa- 
ters of the Yellowstone. The pumice is well 
characterized, consisting of a light spongy mass 
of vitrified matter, made up of minute globules, or 
spheroids of a grayish white colour ; sometimes it is 
brown, red, or black. There is also brought down 
the same river, a volcanic production, light enough 
to swim on water, which does not appear to be pu- 
mice. It is probably a pseudo-volcanic product, 
originating from the accidental burning of coaL 
barks, &c. 

60. Basanite. (Touchstone.) 

On the banks of the Mississippi, are found nu- 
merous pieces of a close grained, dark silicious 



213 

slate, which receive the trace of metallic substan- 
ces rubbed against them with great facility, and 
afford a true evidence of the colour of the metal 
employed. They occur in rolled pieces on the 
shores of the river, where they are deposited by 
the high spring floods, and are brought down with 
innumerable other fragments of stone, from the 
unexplored regions, which give rise to the Missou- 
ri and the Mississippi, with their remotest tributa- 
ries. The several masses, though amorphous in 
some instances, have in others, a trapezoidal con- 
figuration, and they are sufficiently soft, to admit 
of being ground on a common grindstone. 
61. Greenstone Porphyry. 
There is but one body of granitic rock in all 
the inhabited part of the Territory of Missou- 
ri. This occurs in high broken masses in the 
west part of Madison county, and continues for 
many miles into the adjoining county of Washing- 
ton. It is one of the most rough and romantic 
scenes in all that country, and, considered with a 
view to its geological or mineralogical character, 
is by far the most interesting. It is completely in- 
sulated by secondary limestone. In it, are found 
many imbedded minerals, and the River St. Fran- 
cis, which enters the Mississippi five hundred 
miles below, originates in springs which gush out 
among these stupendous piles of red granite. Ores 
of iron, lead, and zinc, with quartz, feldspar, shorl, 
mica, and graphite, are among the mineralsfurnished 
by that region, and greenstone, gneiss, and green- 
stone porphyry, are among the larger masses of 
rock. The greenstone is found in large insolated 



214 

fragments lying promiscuously among the frag- 
ments of granite, which have tumbled down from 
the lofty cliffs above. It would probably be found 
constituting veins in the granite of that place, 
were a diligent search instituted, but 1 did not 
observe any in that situation, it is most common- 
ly rendered porphyritic by crystals of green and 
flesh coloured feldspar, variously shaded and blen- 
ded into one another. The greenstone itself is a 
very dark green, inclining to black. It breaks 
with the most extreme difficulty, sometimes exhi- 
biting small specks of tin-white pyrites. 

62. Schorl. 

Imbedded in certain granitic aggregates in Ma- 
dison county, Missouri Territory, are found ill- 
defined crystals of common black schorl, which 
approach in figure, a six-sided pyramid, terminated 
by three lateral faces, so modified by truncation, as 
to elude description. 

63. Ochre. 

About six miles west of the Chalk Banks on the 
Mississippi, in the interior of Cape Girardeau 
county, Missouri Territory, are found some beds 
of variously coloured ochres, which consist prin- 
cipally of the oxyd of iron, combined with various 
proportions of silex and alumine, all in a state of 
intimate comminution and mixture. These ochres, 
which are red, white, yellow, &c. may proba- 
bly be found useful as pigments, and indeed, they 
have already been applied with some success to 
that use, by the inhabitants of that neighbourhood 



215 



64. Agate. 



A specimen of this mineral now before me, I 
picked up on the highlands south of White River, 
in Arkansaw Territory, and about three hundred 
miles west of the Mississippi. It is nearly the one 
equal fourth part of a nodular mass, broken dur- 
ing that physical revolution of the earth, which 
left the alluvial soil upon the rocks, where, with 
other silicious matters, it occurs as a deposit. Its 
colour is a purple of the highest beauty, pervaded 
by white stripes, or zones, which are arranged in 
concentric curves corresponding with the exteri- 
or indented surface. 

65. Onyx. 

This variety of agate is found in Missouri, on the 
west bank of Establishment Creek, eight miles from 
St. Genevieve, on the road to Potosi. Its colour 
is a bluish white, which passes into pale blue, and 
dark blue, and the colours are variously arranged 
in stripes, zones, or concentric lines. It appears in 
detached masses on the surface of the ground, and 
associated with chalcedony and hornstone. The 
rock formations at that place, are secondary lime- 
stone, overlaying white sandstone. The hardness 
of this mineral is one of its most distinguishing 
properties. It strikes fire readily with steel, and 
from some trials instituted by Mr. Lucius Bull, of 
this city, whom I had furnished with specimens of 
the rough mineral, it appears capable of receiving 
a high polish. 

66. Shale. 

Shale is one of the alternating mineral strata, in 
the Independent Coal formation at Pittsburgh, and 



216 

is common at all the coal mines, so numerous in 
that vicinity. It lies next to the coal, and passes 
on the one hand into argillite, and on the other 
into bituminous shale. A decomposition has in 
some instances taken place, the result of which is 
a clay of a bluish white colour, soponaceous to the 
feel, and plastic. 

67. Buhrstone. (Millstone.) 

Racoon Creek, in Indiana, is noted throughout 
the western country, for the buhrstone procured on 
its ban^s and which is now a profitable branch of 
manufacture. It covers an area of from ten to fif- 
teen acres square. Its texture is vesicular, yet it 
is sufficiently compact to admit of being quarried 
with advantage, and the stones are applied to the 
purposes of milling with the best success. Laurel 
Hill in Virginia, is also noted for the millstones 
procured there, but I did not take that place in 
my tour, and cannot state any particulars respect- 
ing their geological position. The stone appears, 
from a manufactured specimen which I have seen, 
to be a pretty compact variety of that kind of vesi- 
cular quartz, called buhrstone. 

68. Hydrogen Gas. 

A phenomenon which has for several years ex- 
cited the attention of travellers, under the name 
of a burning spring, exists on one of the principal 
forks of Licking River, Kentucky. It is situated 
about three fourths of a mile from the banks of the 
river, and about eighty miles above its junction 
with the Ohio, opposite Cincinnati. A spring here 
breaks out at the foot of a hill, forming a basin of 
water about six feet in diameter, and two feet 



217 

deep, at the bottom of which, issues a stream of 
hydrogen gas, which in volume and force, is about 
equal to the blast forced from a common smith's 
bellows, but there is no cessation of its force, 
which is such as to create a violent ebullition in 
the water. Being heavier than common atmos- 
pheric air, the gas on passing up through the wa- 
ter, constantly occupies the surface, which is still 
the lower part of an indenture in the earth at that 
place. On presenting a taper, this gas instantly 
takes fire, and burns with great brilliancy. There 
is no absorption of it by the water, which possess- 
es the purity of common spring water; neither is 
any offensive odour thrown off, — a circumstance 
which leads me to conclude, that it is carburet ted 
hydrogen, which is probably liberated by the spon- 
taneous operation of physical agents on a stratum 
of stone coal at some depth below. 

This spring has been known to dry up entirely in 
the summer, when the air rushes out with increas- 
ed force, accompanied by a hissing noise. There 
is nothing like smoke emitted ; a fresh peeled sap- 
ling, held over the flame, does not receive the least 
colouration, and meat may be roasted over the 
flame without contracting any disagreeable fla- 
vour. 

69. Native Iron. 

A mass of native iron weighing upwards of three 
thousand pounds, was discovered several years 
ago, on the banks of Red River, in Louisiana, and 
is now in the collection of the Historical Society 
in the New-York Institution. Its shape is irregu- 
lar, inclining to oviform, its surface deeply indented 
28 



218 

and covered by an oxyd of iron, and it is much 
broader at the bottom, where it has rested on the 
earth, than at the top, inclining somewhat in the 
manner of a cone. By several experiments which 
have been made upon different pieces of it, there 
appears to be a want of uniformity in its quality, 
some parts being very malleable and ductile, while 
others possess nearly the hardness of steel. It is 
susceptible of the highest polish, and is said to 
contain some nickel. Col. Gibbs, through whose 
munificence this rare specimen of the physical 
productions of our country has been placed among 
the collections of the Historical Society, has dis- 
covered in its interior, octahedral crystals of singu- 
lar beauty, some of which are half an inch in length, 
and striaeted. 

This mass of iron was found about one hundred 
miles above Natchitoches, on Red River, on one 
of those rich and extensive prairies so common to 
that part of the country, and about twelve miles 
from the banks of the river. Other pieces have 
been found in that neighbourhood, and if re- 
liance is to be placed on information from travel- 
lers into that quarter, very large masses of native 
iron now exist there. 

Remarks. 

In the arrangement of the preceding Catalogue, 
no order has been observed. Species, subspecies, 
and varieties, differing widely in their nature and 
composition, are promiscuously treated, and suc- 
ceed each other without any regard to mineralo- 
gical method. I sat down to write with my col- 
lection of western minerals before me, taking up 



219 

one after another, as they happened contiguous 
and successively recorded their localities, and 
packed them away. Such is the simple method I 
adopted, and now that I have gone through, I am 
not sensible that a new arrangement of the matter 
would materially affect its utility. The labour 
which it would be necessary to bestow in re-wri- 
ting the article, would at least be disproportionate 
to the benefits expected to result from it. It must 
therefore go to the press in its present shape. It 
contains such information on the mineralogy of the 
western country, as I had to give, and I must leave 
it to those who may feel interested, to pick out, ar- 
range, and apply it. 

It is not pretended that the foregoing Catalogue 
embraces all the minerals of the western country. 
On the contrary, there is reason to conclude, that 
only a small portion of them have been noticed. 
Such only as I have seen, or procured specimens 
of, or of whose existence I am certified by concur- 
rent testimonies, I have mentioned, adding such 
reflections as appeared to me to be proper. It is 
therefore rather the Catalogue of such minerals as 
I collected on my tour, than asy attempt to embo- 
dy all the known localities of minerals of that ex- 
tensive country through which I passed. Many 
others might have been added from received au- 
thority, but I preferred making out the record of a 
few localities well known, than of many whose ex- 
istence, character, and extent, are involved in 
doubt. It is the commencement of an investiga- 
tion into the physical history, character, and re- 
sources of the western country, and which is left 



220 

to future observation to continue and perfect. 
The field is an extensive one, and invites attention; 
and I only regret the insufficiency of ray means, to 
continue inquiries so full of interest, and so near- 
ly allied to the wants, comforts, and indepen- 
dence of our country. 1 must content myself 
therefore, with having been the pioneer of western 
science, without the advantages resulting from its 
regular march, and of having endured many of the 
difficulties, connected with a frontier tour, with the 
expectation of few of its advantages. 



ARTICLE III. 



JOURNAL 

OF A 

VOYAGE UP THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER, 
FROM THE MOUTH OF THE OHIO TO ST. LOUIS, 

WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF THAT PLACE. 



July 1, 1818. The dashing of oars awoke me 
this morning at an early hour, and on quitting my 
birth, I found the boat under rapid headway for 
the mouth of the Ohio, with the Mississippi in full 
view. The interest excited on approaching the 
junction of these celebrated rivers, and a wish to 
survey with attention the physical character of the 
country, kept me constantly on deck. The morn- 
ing was calm and serene, scarcely a cloud obscured 
the atmosphere, and the sun rose majestically 
above the horizon, clothing in light the most sub- 
lime and beautiful scene, which, until that mo- 
ment, I ever beheld. The novelty of the scenery, 
the bold geographical outlines presented by the 
banks of the rivers, the heavy forests which cast 
their gloomy shadows upon the water, and the low 



222 

murmur of two mighty streams hastening to mingle 
their currents, could not fail to present a scene 
replete with the highest interest, and capable, at 
once, of exciting our united wonder and admira- 
tion. Yet, I could not contemplate the junction 
of these two streams without feeling something 
like regret or disappointment, not because the 
scene did not equal the expectations I had formed 
of it, for it was all I had anticipated, but it arose 
from the termination at that place of a beautiful 
river, which in my descent had afforded me so 
much pleasure, and of which I wished to see more, 
■ — it arose from the submersion and loss of the 
gentle and clear Ohio in the rapid and turbid 
Mississippi. After having pursued the Ohio from 
Pittsburgh to its mouth, a distance of more than 
one thousand miles, and seeing it successively 
swelled by the Sciota, the Muskingum, the Miami, 
the Kanhaway, Kentucky, Green, Wabash, Cum- 
berland, Tennessee, and numerous other rivers, 
of scarcely inferior magnitude, the traveller is in- 
sensibly led to a contemplation of its grandeur 
and beauty ; he feels a mingled emotion of pride 
and satisfaction in riding down its majestic cur- 
rent, and cannot help feeling something like regret, 
to find it, at last, merely a tributary to the Missis- 
sippi — that mighty stream which draws its waters 
from a country equal in extent to the Roman Em- 
pire in its proudest days ; and whose tributaries 
are rivers surpassing in size the Rhine, the Da- 
nube, or the Wolga. Such at least were my emo- 
tions on reaching the Mississippi, which w enter- 
ed this morning at sunrise, and found ourselves 



223 



suddenly transported from a gentle current and 
clear water, to a stream holding so much mud in 
suspension as to appear perfectly opaque ; and a 
current so rapid that it is with difficulty navigated 
by ordinary boats. 

Made this day five miles. Banks of the river a 
rich black alluvion, elevated from ten to fifteen 
feet above the water.— Trees chiefly cotton wood. 
Left at the mouth of the Ohio about twenty boats 
of all denominations, laden with merchandise, and 
emigrant passengers, chiefly destined for Boon's 
Lick on the Missouri. 

Thursday, 2d July. Soil and timber the same as 
yesterday. Banks twenty feet high on an average, 
and subject to semi-annual inundation. We have 
suffered excessively this day from musquitoes, 
and they are now in swarms around the boat, so 
that I promise myself little sleep this night. As- 
cended six miles. 

Friday, 3d July. We have this day passed seve- 
ral islands covered with a rank growth of young 
cotton wood trees, and passed for several miles 
along a shore rendered dangerous by sawyers, 
planters, and mags, As these terms may not be 
familiar to an eastern reader, an explanation may 
here be given. A sawyer is a large tree which 
has tumbled into the river above, and got fastened 
by its roots in the bottom, with its top pointed 
downwards, and just appearing above the level of 
the water, or it may terminate a foot or two below, 
so that its locality can only be told by an experi- 
enced hand by the ripple created in the water. 
This tree is continually forced downward by the 



224 

current, which is still not strong enough to tear it 
out, and suffers it occasionally to recoil, so that a 
regular rotatory motion is kept up, which is per- 
formed once in ten or fifteen minutes ; and if a 
boat be passing over it at the time it has overcome 
the pressure of the current and is recoiling to its 
original position, the destruction of the boat is in- 
evitable. The power of this engine of destruction 
is that of elasticity, which is here brought into 
operation by the pressure of water against a co- 
lumn of live wood eighty or ninety feet in length, 
the bottom being fastened, and the column inclined 
at an angle of about eighty degrees, leaving the 
top at liberty to play like a whip-stalk. When 
the tree does not reach within two or three feet of 
the surface of the water, they are called sleeping 
sawyers, and these are the most dangerous, for they 
cannot be seen. It was on one of these that the 
steam boat Franklin struck, and sunk, a few miles 
below St. Genevieve. 

Planters, are trees in a similar situation, but firmly 
set, and having no motion. Snags, are small trees, 
or limbs of large trees, sticking up in the river, and 
may either be fixed or have motion. 

Ascended this day seven miles, and came to, at 
night, at the foot of a large island, covered with 
the reed, or cane, a plant which has been com- 
mon, as the undergrowth, on both banks of the 
river, from the mouth of the Ohio thus far up. 

Saturday, July 4th. Independence. To testify 
their observance of this day, the boatmen made 
their appearance this morning in clean shirts, and 
were indulged with an extra dram by the captain. 



225 

I. could not help thinking it less a tribute of honour 
to the day, than a comfort to themselves. There 
has thus far been a great uniformity in the appear- 
ance of the country. The banks, however, begin 
to rise, and from the appearance of the wild tur- 
key and gray squirrel on the shore, it is probable we 
are passing out of the inundated region. Ascend- 
ed six miles. 

Sunday, July 5th. A storm coming on suddenly 
last night, and the waves beginning to rise, we were 
compelled to make land on a falling-in bank, at the 
head of a large island, and where we lay all night 
in imminent danger of being crushed by the falling 
earth, or sunk by the violence of the waves. These 
banks are created by the current of the river be- 
ing altered, (which generally happens during the 
high spring floods,) and thrown forcibly against 
the head or side of islands or banks, which are 
continually undermining and tumbling in, so that 
whole islands are thus swept away, and deposited 
at some other place, where the current favours 
the increase of some head land, or the formation 
of new islands. 

Ascended this day eight miles, which brought us 
jto the first settlement at Tyawapaty Bottom. Here 
are six or eight plantations, where corn, flax, hemp, 
iobacco, pumpkins, potatoes, &c. are raised in 
abundance. The lands are said to be too rich 
for wheat. The peach and apple tree succeed 
very well, and among the wild fruits, the black- 
berry, papaw, percimmon, crab apple, and haws, 
are abundant. This is the first spot of land suffi- 
ciently elevated to admit of successful cultivation. 

29 



226 

and is exempt from inundation, except in uncommon 
rises, when it is overflown for a short period, from 
one to two feet. 

Monday, July 6th. No change in the face of the 
country. Settlements continue on the Missouri 
shore, and the land gradually rises. Ascended 
three miles, and lay by, waiting for hands, our crew 
being found too weak to work the boat with ad- 
vantage. While moored to the bank this day, 
we were overtaken and passed by, a boat loaded 
with pine boards and plank from Olean, on the 
head of Alleghany River, in Cattaragus county, 
state of New-York, and destined for St. Louis. On 
inquiry, I learned that a considerable commerce 
in these articles was carried on ; and that a hand- 
some profit attended the business. The boards 
and plank are taken in rafts from Olean, to the 
mouth of Ohio, and from thence carried in keel 
boats and barges to St. Louis, where they are 
worth sixty dollars per thousand feet. 

Tuesday, July 7th. Early in the morning arrived 
at the head of Tyawapaty Bottom, at the Little 
Chain of Rocks, where the western, or Missouri 
bank of the river presents an elevated ridge, with 
a rocky front to the river, and covered at top, with 
a stratum of sterile alluvion, consisting of pebbles, 
and chips of hornstone in a red clay, which affords 
nourishment to a stinted growth of oaks, some 
walnut, sassafras, and a few other trees and plants 
peculiar to the poorer kinds of soil. This is the 
first high land met with from the mouth of the 
Ohio, from which it is situated thirty-five miles, 
and fifteen miles below Cape Girardeau. 



227 

Half a mile above the Little Cham of Rocks, arc 
situated the Chalk Banks, where chalk of a good 
quality is procured, and much of the chalk con- 
sumed in the interior of Missouri, is procured at 
that place. The beds are extensive, and the chalk 
is raised with very little expense. Pervading it, 
are found strata of flint, from two to four inches in 
thickness; and I also procured some specimens of 
flint in the nodular form, inveloped by chalk, or 
a calcareous matter resembling chalk. There 
is also found here, yellow and red ochre, and 
large masses of puddingstone are found on the 
margin of the river. It consists chiefly of silicious 
pebbles, and sand, cemented by iron. Ascended 
ten miles. 

Wednesday, July 8th. Limestone rocks, and hilly 
grounds, covered with oak, with occasional strips 
of bottom land, continue on the Missouri shore. 
On the eastern or Illinois shore, the country has 
been wholly of alluvial formation, presenting a 
rich level plain, covered by a heavy growth of 
cotton wood, sycamore, elm, &c. Generally, how- 
ever, it appears too low for cultivation, and re- 
mains in the state of nature. On ascending five 
miles this morning, we reached the town of Cape 
Girardeau, which consists of about fifty houses, in- 
cluding two stores and a post office, and is situated 
on an eminence commanding a delightful prospect 
of the Mississippi for several miles below, and of 
the country of the Illinois beyond. It was former- 
ly the seat of justice for Cape Girardeau county, 
Missouri Territory, but according to a late law, it 



228 

has been removed to Jackson, a flourishing town 
situated twelve miles west of the river. 

The town of Cape Girardeau, is situated fifty 
miles above the junction of the Ohio and Missis- 
sippi, and about eighty miles below St. Genevieve. 
We have thus far experienced a strong current, 
many shoals, sand bars, falling-in banks, and rafts 
of trees, snags and sawyers without number. 

Thursday, July 9th. The mineralogical charac- 
ter of the western bank of the river, is becoming 
more interesting. Some pieces of hornstone, jas- 
per, radiated quartz, and argillaceous oxyd of iron, 
have rewarded my rambles this day. The rock 
formations are invariably limestone, chiefly secon- 
dary, resting on red sandstone. These rise, in 
some places, in perpendicular bluffs on the banks 
of the river, and at others, recede for half a mile, 
or a mile, giving place to a rich bottom of alluvial 
formation, which is generally elevated above the 
periodical floods. Some farm-houses are scatter- 
ed along the shore, surrounded by the most luxuri- 
ant corn-flelds. Corn appears to be the staple ar- 
ticle of the farmer, although wheat succeeds very 
well in Cape Girardeau county generally, particu- 
larly in the interior, where considerable quanti- 
ties are raised. Ascended seven miles. 

Friday, July 10th. Rocks continue on the Mis- 
souri shore, and have presented a perpendicular 
wall for the greatest part of the day, presenting 
in some places, the most novel, terrific, and en- 
chanting viewSi Picked up a large fragment of 
pumice, well characterized, which is annually 
brought down the Missouri River, as the boatmen 



229 

say, from the unknown countries at its head, where 
volcanic fires are said to exist. Ascended seven 
miles, and encamped at the Jllockason Spring, a 
basin of limpid water, occupying a crevice in the 
rock, and well known among the navigators of the 
Mississippi, for the cooling beverage it affords. 

Saturday, July 1 \th. We were passed this day 
by the steam-boat Harriet, laden with merchan- 
dise for St. Louis. Face of the country unaltered. 
Some plantations on the Illinois shore. Ascended 
five miles. 

Sunday, July 1 2th. Passed the mouth of Great 
Muddy River, a considerable stream of Illinois, 
and whose banks afford large beds of good inflam- 
mable stone coal. Several pieces of native cop- 
per have also been found near the margin of this 
river. Directly opposite the mouth of this river, 
on the Missouri shore, is found a bed of chalk, 
similar in appearance to that procured at the 
Little Chain of Rocks, in Cape Girardeau county. 
Two miles more brought us to the Grand Tower, one 
of the wonders of the Mississippi. It is a stupen- 
dous pile of rocks, rising out of the river, nearly 
midway of the stream, of a ibrai nearly circular, 
and rising somewhat in the shape of a cone, to the 
height of about one hundred and fifty feet, and 
capped by a stinted growth of cedars. It seems 
in connexion with the rocky shores on either side, 
to have opposed, at some former period, a barrier 
to the progress of the Mississippi, which must here 
have had a perpendicular fall of more than onr 
hundred feet. 



230 

In the rocks on the Illinois shore, and directly 
opposite the Grand Tower, is a large crevice, call- 
ed the DeviVs Oven, which is less remarkable for 
any thing wonderful or terrific in its appearance, 
than for its name. It may also claim notice from 
being the first rock or highland on the Illinois shore 
from the mouth of the Ohio, thus far up. A chain of 
hills coming from the southwest, appears to have 
crossed the Mississippi at this place, pursuing its 
way into Illinois, first in a northeast direction, then 
stretching towards the northwest, and forming the 
eastern shore of the Illinois River, as far as obser- 
vation has extended. By some convulsion of na- 
ture, or the continued power of friction acting 
for centuries upon a limestone rock, the Mississip- 
pi has here forced its way through that barrier, 
leaving the Grand Tower as a perpetual monu- 
ment of that sublime physical revolution. Ascend- 
ed seven miles, and encamped in the eddy be- 
low Cape Garlick, after having made three unsuc- 
cessful attempts to pass it. 

Monday. July 13th. On a renewed attempt this 
morning, we succeeded in doubling the Cape, not, 
however, without incredible fatigue, and the loss 
of two of our best hands, who refused to pro- 
ceed any further; were paid off, furnished with 
provisions, and immediately commenced their 
journey back. Ascended half a mile further, and 
came to, at the mouth of the Obrazo, a small river, 
entering on the Missouri shore. It originates in 
broken lands in the southwestern corner of St. 
Genevieve county, and affords near its mouth, a 
fine body of choice farming lands. While moored 



231 

to the bank here, waiting the arrival of additional 
hands from the interior, we were passed at diffe 
rent periods, by four boats, chiefly laden with fur- 
niture, and emigrants from Vermont, and the wes- 
tern part of New-York, destined for Boon's Lick, 
on the Missouri. 

Tuesday, July 15th. Rocks occasionally on both 
sides of the river, with some bottom lands, and a 
few plantations intervening. Ascended six miles. 

Wednesday, July 1 5fh. Scenery unaltered. No- 
thing can equal the beauty of the varying land- 
scape, presented for the last two days. There has 
appeared a succession of the most novel and in- 
teresting objects which the face of nature is capa- 
ble of presenting. Whatever pleasure can be de- 
rived from the contemplation of natural objects, 
presented in surprising and picturesque groupes, 
can here be enjoyed in the highest degree. Even 
art may be challenged to contrast with more effect, 
the bleak and rugged cliff with the verdant forest, 
the cultivated field, or the wide extended surface 
of the Mississippi, interspersed with its beautiful 
islands, and winding majestically through a coun- 
try, which only requires the improvements of civi- 
lized and refined society, to render it one of the 
most delightful residences of man. Nor is it pos- 
sible to contemplate the vast extent, fertility, re- 
sources, and increasing population of this immea- 
surable valley, without feeling a desire that our 
lives could be prolonged to an unusual period, that 
we might survey, an hundred years hence, the phy- 
sical and political condition of this country, and 
live to participate in the advantages, improve- 



232 

ments, wealth, glory, and power, which is destined 
to crown the great basin between the Alleghany 
and Rocky Mountains, the first kingdom upon the 
^lobe. Ascended seven miles. 

Thursday. July IQth. The western shore of the 
Mississippi has been unusually rugged and barren 
this day, presenting one continued wall of lime- 
stone, and but little ground which is capable of 
cultivation. Cape St. Comb, which we passed at 
noon, is remarkable for the large fragments of sand- 
stone rock, which are lying there in the most pro- 
miscuous manner. Some pieces of it, may be con- 
sidered granular quartz. We frequently meet the 
paroquet on the banks of the river, and have passed 
several large flocks to-day. This is a kind of par- 
rot, a beautiful bird, which is very common in 
Louisiana, Missouri, and Kentucky. We have al- 
so met in this day's voyage, a large flock of peli- 
cans, but could not approach nigh enough to kill 
any. This is a bird which frequents the waters 
of the Mississippi, but never ventures far into the 
interior. The wild turkey, quail, and squirrel, 
are daily met with on either shore, and we find no 
difficulty in killing as many as we have occasion 
for. Ascended ten miles, and encamped at the 
foot of Bois Brula Bottom. 

Friday, July 1 7 th. We have this day passed by 
a considerable part of Bois Brula Bottom, which 
is one of the most fertile tracts of alluvial soil in 
St. Genevieve county. It extends for twelve miles 
along the margin of the river, and is a populous 
and flourishing settlement. Ascended seven miles 



233 

^ind encamped, some of the hands complaining oi 
sickness. 

Saturday, July \8tL At an early hour this morn- 
ing, we passed the mouth of the Kaskaskia, or 
Ocaw River, a large stream running in from the 
Illinois shore. It is a hundred yards wide at its 
mouth, with an average depth of eight feet of wa- 
ter, and originates in the highlands east of the Illi— 
nois River, about two hundred and fifty miles north- 
west of its junction with the Mississippi. Kaskas- 
kia, one of the oldest towns in Illinois, and the 
present seat of the territorial government, is situa- 
ted on this river, seven miles from its mouth, and 

the river will admit of being navigated with steam 

© © 

boats to that place. Ascended seven miles. 

Sunday, July 19th. From the head of Bois Bru~ 
la Bottom, to the commencement of the great field 
of St. Genevieve, a distance of six miles, the coun- 
try is rough and unsettled. Here commences a 
rich tract of alluvion, which extends to the town of 
St. Genevieve, a distance of five miles, and is cul- 
tivated in common by the inhabitants. Ascended 
this day eleven miles, which brought us to the St. 
Genevieve landing, at the mouth of the Gabbarrie, 
a small creek running through the town. The 
town of St. Genevieve lies on an eminence, a mile 
west of the landing, and consists of about three 
hundred houses, including several stores, a post- 
office, court-house, jail, and Roman Catholic cha- 
pel. It is one of the principal markets for the 
Missouri lead mines, and carries on a considera- 
ble commerce with the interior, supplying foreign 
merchandise to the inhabitants, and taking lead, 

30 



231 

corn, wheat, whiskey, pork, beef, deer skins, and 
peltries in return. A branch of the Missouri bank, 
with a capital of $ 50,000 is also established at this 
place. 

Monday, July 20th. At St. Genevieve. The 
water of the Mississippi is falling rapidly, and 
leaves on the shores a deposit of mud, which, is 
in various places from a foot to two feet in depth. 
This recent deposit appears to consist essentially 
of silex and alumine, in a state of very intimate 
mixture. An opinion is prevalent throughout this 
country, that the water of the Mississippi, with 
every impurity, is healthful as a common drink, 
and accordingly the boatmen, and many of the in- 
habitants on the banks of the river, make use of 
no other water. An expedient resorted to at first, 
perhaps, from necessity, may be continued from 
an impression of the benefits resulting from it. I 
am not well enough acquainted with the chymical 
properties of the water, or the method in which it 
operates on the human system, to deny its utility, 
but to my palate, a glass of cool, clear spring wa- 
ter, is far preferable to the muddy lukewarm wa- 
ter of the Mississippi. I have seen a simple method 
pursued for clarifying it. It is done by sprinkling 
a handful of Indian meal on the surface of a pail of 
water, which precipitates the mud to the bottom, 
and the superincumbent water is left in a tolera- 
ble state of purity. 

Tuesday, July 21st. While lying at St. Genevieve 
yesterday, we were passed by several keel boats, 
and barges with emigrants, merchandise, pine 
plank, from Olean, &c. all destined for St. Louis 



Among the number of emigrants with whom I con- 
versed, were several from the District of Maine, 
from Vermont, Connecticut, New-York, Pennsyl- 
vania, North Carolina, and Kentucky ; whose des- 
tination was chiefly Boon's Lick, on the Missouri. 
On ascending three miles above St. Genevieve 
this morning, we came to the Little Rock Ferry. 
where the west bank of the river presents a 
wall of limestone, which continues for several 
miles up. At this place we had occasion to 
witness a remarkable instance of longevity in 
the person of M. Burton, whose age is stated at 
one hundred and nine years, and whose life has 
been spent in the fatigues and activity inseparable 
from the pursuits of a soldier and a hunter. He 
was at Braddock's defeat, — at the siege of Louis- 
bourg, — at the taking of Bergen-op-Zoom in Flan- 
ders, — at the building of Fort Chartres in Illinois, 
and was the discoverer of those rich and extensive 
lead mines in Washington County, which continue 
to be called after him. Ascended twelve miles. 

Wednesday, July 22c?. Limestone rock, washed 
by the river, — hills back covered chiefly with 
oak, — lands poor, and strewed with detached 
shivers of flint, and hornstone, which are some- 
times accompanied by the ancient Indian dart, and 
radiated quartz. Those detached strips of allu- 
vion, which occasionally intervene between the 
most prominent points of rocks, are covered by a 
very rank growth of plants, shrubs, and vines : 
among which the wild pea, and the hop, are con- 
spicuous. The forest trees immediately bordering 
the river are cotton wood and sycamore, with 



236 

some papaw, buckeye, and hackbcrry. We were 
passed near evening by the steam boat Harriet, on 
her descent from St. Louis, and also by two keel 
boats, going to the mouth of Ohio for pine plank. 
The west banks of the river have this day present- 
ed some sublime views, particularly at a place 
called the Dormant Walls, which are elevated at 
least 200 feet above the water's edge, and bear 
the marks of attrition of some ancient ocean, to 
which it has served as the western barrier, and 
now bears a thousand fanciful forms, imprinted by 
the action of the water. Ascended thirteen miles. 

Thursdaij, July '23d. The bold and rude scenery 
presented by the western bank of the river yester- 
day, has continued nearly all this day, sometimes 
rising into very high peaks, and at others gradu- 
ating into gentle hills, covered with oaks, and 
bounded on the margin of the river by small 
alluvial tracts. Passed the mouth of the Flatten 
Creek, Cornice and Swashing Rocks, and arrived 
at Herculaneum about mid-day. Distance five 
miles. 

Herculaneum is a town of between 30 and 40 
houses, and is handsomely situated on the west 
bank of the Mississippi, at the mouth of Joachim 
Creek. It has three stores, a post office, and school ; 
and there are three shot towers, two flouring mills, 
a distillery, and tan yard in its vicinity. It is one of 
the principal markets for the Missouri Lead mines.* 

Friday, July %ith. At Herculaneum. The boat 
unexpectedly ends her voyage at this place — cargo 

* Herculaneum has since been fixed upon as the seat of justice for Jeffer- 
son County. 



237 

ail discharged, and it returns. Directly oppo- 
site Herculaneum, on the Illinois shore, lies Harri- 
sonville, a small town of about twenty houses, and 
the seat of justice for Monroe County, Illinois. It 
is situated on a tract of alluvial land called the 
American Bottom, which extends from the Kas- 
kaskia river along the margin of the .Mississippi 
for a hundred miles, and has a breadth of from 
three to ten miles. It is one of the richest bodies 
of land in the western country, producing all kinds 
of grain and fruits in great perfection and abun- 
dance. Its margin on the river is covered by a 
dark and heavy forest of trees, with a rank growth 
of underbrush ; but at the distance of a mile, or a 
mile and a half from the banks of the Mississippi, 
the prairies commence, and extend to the rocky 
bluff by which the tract is bounded on the east. 

Saturday, July 25th. At Herculaneum. This 
town is situated thirty miles below St. Louis, thirty 
above St. Genevieve, and one hundred and seventy 
above the junction of the Ohio with the Mississip- 
pi. The lead mines lie 35 miles southwest of it. 
The scite of this town has been chosen with a ju- 
dicious eye ; its local relation to the adjoining coun- 
try being such as to render it the key to its com- 
merce. It lies on a high level alluvial plain, en- 
vironed on both sides by rocky bluffs, which appear 
here to have been placed asunder to allow the Jo- 
achim a passage into the Mississippi. These bluffs 
are crowned by shot towers, which add much to 
the picturesque appearance of the place, and af- 
ford the visitor a most enchanting view of the Mis- 
sissippi river for many miles below and above ;-— 



238 

of its islands and banks — of the American bottom, 
and of the bluffs beyond; 

The geological character of the western banks 
of the Mississippi, from the first highland which is 
met with at the Little Chain of Rocks, to this place, 
has preserved a great uniformity. The lowest 
stratum of rocks is a grayish yellow, or reddish 
sandstone, which passes in some places into a gray- 
ish white sandstone, coarse grained, nnd in others 
to a very fine white granular quartz. This is over- 
layed by transition, and secondary limestone, the 
latter being the highest and last deposit, containing 
numerous impressions of shells, animalcula, and 
plants. Primitive limestone (compact) is found on 
the bluffs back of this town. 

Sunday, July 26th. Having no opportunity to 
continue my journey by water, 1 determined to 
pursue my way to St. Louis by land, and set out 
this morning, in company with two of my fellow 
voyagers, on foot, having taken directions as to the 
roads and distance. After travelling seven miles 
we arrived at the Sulphur Springs, a place which is 
occasionally resorted to on account of its medici- 
nal properties. The water is pretty strongly im- 
pregnated with sulphur, and is supposed to have 
a beneficial effect in bilious complaints. The 
scenery in the vicinity of the springs is highly pic- 
turesque, and the place is susceptible of being 
made a delightful resort. Five miles more brought 
us to the banks of the Merrimack river, where we 
arrived at dark, and prevailed with the ferryman 
to take us across, notwithstanding the darkness of 
the night, and the rain, which after having threat- 



239 

ened a shower all the afternoon, now began to fall- 
Mistaking our way, however, on leaving the west 
banks of the river, we wandered about for two or 
three hours in the woods, the rain pouring in tor- 
rents, and the night so dark that we could only 
progress when the lightning served to show us the 
way ; and at last found the house we were in 
search of. The Merrimack is a stream of two 
hundred yards across, and originates in high lands 
two hundred and fifty miles southwest of its junc- 
tion with the Mississippi, ft affords some fine 
bodies of land, and near its head are large forests 
of pine, which are destined to furnish boards and 
plank for building to a great portion of the sur- 
rounding country. Its banks also furnish large 
beds of iron ore, and manganese ; and the exten- 
sive lead mines in Washington County are all situ- 
ated on its tributary streams. 

Our road this day has lain across a sterile tract 
of country, consisting of a succession of hills of 
moderate elevation, covered chiefly by oaks, and 
without underbrush. A tall, thick, and rank growth 
of wild grass, covers the whole country, in which 
the oaks are standing interspersed, like fruit trees 
in some well cultivated orchard, and giving to the 
scenery the most novel, pleasing, and picturesque 
appearance. Distance fifteen miles. 

Monday, July 11th. On travelling twelve miles 
this morning, we arrived at the old French village 
of Carondalet, or Vedc-pouche. It lies immediately 
on the margin of the Mississippi, and contains 
about sixty buildings, exclusively occupied by the 
French, who are chiefly engaged in agriculture 



240 

Nearly opposite Carondalet, on the Illinois shore, 
lies the town of Cahokia, the seat of justiee for 
St. Clair County, Illinois. It has about one hun- 
dred houses including the county buildings, a post- 
office, a Roman Catholic chapel, and an office for 
the sale of public lands. The inhabitants are 
chiefly French. This town is the residence of the 
presidingjudge of the Territory, the Hon. J. B. 
Thomas. 

On quitting Carondalet, we entered upon an 
elevated tract of highland prairie, without forest 
trees, and covered by tall grass and shrubs. The 
road across this' tract preserves a parallelism with 
the Mississippi, from which it is situated about 
half a mile, and affords several commanding pros- 
pects of that river, and of the country beyond. At 
the distance of three miles a sudden change is 
witnessed, and a rich tract of improved country, 
with numerous well constructed buildings, fences, 
orchards, &c. indicated our approach to St. Louis, 
where we arrived at about four o'clock, and enjoy- 
ed a serene evening, for viewing the town. Dis- 
tance eighteen miles. 

Tuesday, July 28th. Description of St. Louis. St 
Louis is situated in Lat. 38° 36" N. and Long. 
12° 58" W. from Washington City. It is built upon 
the west bank of the Mississippi river, eighteen 
miles below the junction of that river with the 
Missouri, and thirty miles below r the mouth of the 
Illinois. It is twelve hundred miles above the city 
of New-Orleans, two hundred above the junction 
of the Ohio and Mississippi, and fifteen hundred 
miles, by computation, below the Falls of St. An- 



241 

thony. The town occupies an elevated plain in a 
bend of the river, which has a gradual ascent from 
the landing in front, to the rear of the town, where 
it terminates in a level and extensive prairie, or 
plain. This plain consists of a stratum of alluvial 
soil, bottomed on limestone rock, which forms a 
permanent shore in front of the town, and for se- 
veral miles below and above it. It contains 5,000 
inhabitants, and about £50 houses, a great propor- 
tion of which are well constructed buildings of 
brick or stone. Among the number, are 40 stores, 
a postoffice, a land office, two chartered banks — 
the Bank of Missouri, and the St. Louis Bank, and 
one private bank, called the St. Louis Exchange 
Bank. All the ordinary trades and callings, are 
established, and the mechanic industry of the 
place, supplies not only the necessaries, but many 
of the elegancies of life. It has one brewery, two 
distilleries, two water mills, one steam flouring 
mill, and a mill propelled by ox power. It has a 
court-house, jail, theatre, three churches, a muse- 
um, and several public schools, where not only 
the rudiments, but some of the higher branches 
of education are taught. The museum is the 
private property of Gov. Clark, through whose 
generosity visiters are gratuitously admitted to 
view the collection, which is arranged with great 
taste and effect, in the council chamber of his 
agency. The collection consists of numerous 
splendid Indian dresses, warlike instruments, skins 
of remarkable animals, minerals, fossil-bones, and 
other rare and interesting specimens, collected by 
him in his memorable tour to the sources of the 
31 



242 

Missouri River, to the Rocky Mountains, and to 
the mouth of the Columbia River. 

St. Louis is the seat of justice for St. Louis 
county, and the seat of legislation for the territory. 
It will also be the seat of government for the con- 
templated state of Missouri, and I anticipate the 
day, when it will be the seat of empire for that 
vast basin of land, situated between the Alleghany 
and Rocky Mountains on the east and west, and 
between the northern Lakes and the Gulph of 
Mexico on the north and south. Its situation in 
point of beauty, health, and convenience, is rare- 
ly equalled, and no place in the world, situated so 
far from the ocean, can at all compare with it, for 
commercial advantages. It is so situated with re- 
gard to the surrounding country, as to become the 
key of its commerce, and the store-house of its 
wealth, and if the whole western region be sur- 
veyed with a geographical eye, it must rest with 
unequalled interest on that peninsula of land form- 
ed by the junction of the Missouri with the Mis- 
sissippi, a point occupied by the town of St. Louis. 
Standingnearthe confluence of such mighty streams, 
an almost immeasurable extent of back country 
inost flow to it with its produce, and be supplied 
from it, with merchandise. The main branch 
of the Missouri is navigable two thousand five hun- 
dred miles, and the most inconsiderable of its tri- 
butary streams, will vie with the largest rivers of 
the Atlantic states. The Yellowstone, which en- 
ters the Missouri 1,800 miles from its mouth, is it- 
self navigable 800 miles.— The La Platte— the 
Kanzas — the Osage — the Soo — the White Stone — 



243 

the Manitow — and the Gasconade, are all navi 
gable from 300 to 700 miles, and flow through 
a country rich in all the productions of a climate 
the most genial, healthy, and serene. The Mis- 
souri, and its tributary streams, will supply navi- 
gation to a district of country 600 miles wide, and 
2000 miles in extent. The Mississippi is naviga- 
ble without interruption, 1000 miles above St. 
Louis. Its tributaries, the Corbeau, Iowa, Ous- 
consin, St. Pierre, Rock River, Salt River, and 
Desmoines, are all streams of the first magnitude, 
and navigable for many hundred miles. The Illi- 
nois is navigable 300 miles, and when the commu- 
nication between it and Lake Michigan — between 
the Mississippi, and Lake Superior, and the Lake of 
the Woods — between the Missouri and the Colum- 
bia — between the Yellowstone and the Multnomah, 
shall be effected, communications not only point- 
ed out, but almost completed by nature, what a 
chain of connected navigation shall we behold ? 
and by looking upon the map, we shall find St. 
Louis the focus where all these streams are dis- 
charged, the point where all this vast commerce 
must centre, and where the wealth, and the refine- 
ments, flowing from these prolific sources, must 
pre-eminently crown her the queen of the west. 

The valley of the Missouri in point of fertility, 
will well compare with the delta of the Nile, and 
lies mostly under a climate which is a medium be- 
tween the cold winters of New-England, and the 
hot summers of Georgia. The soil is adapted to 
the raising of corn, wheat, rye, oats, flax, hemp, 
and tobacco. The flax and hemp of Boon's Lick. 



244 

is generally noted for its vigorous growth, and the 
fineness and flexibility of its fibres. The soil ap- 
pears also peculiarly adapted to corn, which at- 
tains an almost incredible height, and yields 
abundantly. Some of the stalks will measure 
twenty feet, and as high as ninety bushels have 
been gathered from an acre, on the average of a 
large field together. Emigration is now flowing 
into this region with unexampled rapidity, already 
do settlements extend to the mouth of the Osage 
and Mine Rivers, and several towns are in the 
most flourishing condition. The principal of these 
are, Franklin, St. Charles, and Chariton, and 
should emigration proceed at the rate now indica- 
ted, fifty years will behold the banks of the Missouri 
from its mouth, to the La Platte, one of the most 
populous and well cultivated tracts in the western 
country. On the Mississippi also, we see the 
march of emigration, and the progress of improve- 
ment. The country is already settled as high as 
Salt River, which is bordered by a fertile and exten- 
sive tract of land, and the settlements at Prairie 
Du Chien are in a very promising state of advance. 
It is probable this place will be chosen as the seat 
of territorial government, whenever it becomes 
expedient to erect a separate executive depart- 
ment for the government of the Northwest Terri- 
tory. 

By extending our military post to the Yellow- 
stone, and the Falls of St. Anthony, the fur trade 
of the northwest regions, and the Upper Missouri, 
which is now engrossed by the British traders, and 
carried on through the Lakes and Montreal, will 



245 

in few years, be turned into its natural channel?, 
the Mississippi, and the Missouri. St. Louis will 
then become the great depot of this trade, as 
Montreal is now, and by the supplies it will furnish, 
and the furs and peltries it will receive in return, 
will add yearly to its wealth and increase. This 
measure will also be attended with the most im- 
portant benefits to the frontier settlements, who 
will thereby be protected from savage invasions 
and wars, and be enabled to extend themselves 
into countries, which would otherwise remain a 
wilderness for at least half a century longer. The 
copper mines of Lake Superior, the lead mines of 
Prairie Du Chien, and of Washington county, with 
the mines of coal, iron, zinc, manganese, and other 
minerals which abound in this country, are also 
destined to accelerate its march to wealth, civi- 
lization, and refinement, and a considerable pari 
of the advantages arising from these, must always 
concentrate at St. Louis. 



ARTICLE IV. 

TOPOGRAPHICAL ACCOUNT OF WHITE RIVER, 



IN 



ARKANSAW TERRITORY, 



In order duly to estimate the magnitude, posi- 
tion, character, and importance of any of our 
great western rivers, it is necessary to consider 
the relation they bear to each other, and to the 
surrounding country. A mere topographical de- 
scription of an insulated section of country, a 
mountain, a stream, or a mine, may possess its 
value, but without a survey, however cursory, of 
the contiguous regions, it must lose much of its 
interest to the general reader, and much of its utili- 
ty to the geographical student. It will be necessary 
therefore, to cast a glance at the extensive coun- 
try, in which this river lies, before its individual 
consideration can be profitably commenced. 

In looking on the map of ancient Louisiana, the 
most striking physical trait presented, is the Rocky, 
or Chippewan Mountains, extending from Mexico 
into the unexplored regions north and west of Lake 
Superior, with the Del Norde, Red River, the Ar- 
kansaw, the Kanzas, La Platte, and Yellowstone, 
all issuing from its sides near the same point, and 
uniting, (with the exception of the former,) at dif- 



247 

ierent points in the vast basin below, with the Mis 
souri, the Ohio, and the Mississippi, in whose con- 
gregated flood they roll on to the Mexican Gulph. 
Other streams traverse that country, but these are 
the only rivers of Louisiana, whose heads rests on 
the Chippewan Mountains. Immediately at the 
foot of these mountains, commences the almost in- 
terminable plains of sand, or desert, which stretches 
from north to south, for more than a thousand 
miles, and has an average breadth of six hundred. 
To this succeeds the highlands and mountains of 
the present territories of Missouri and Arkansaw, 
and which preserve a pretty exact parallelism 
from north to south, with the Chippewan chain, 
and give rise to several rivers of secondary magni- 
tude. This is again bounded by the alluvial tract 
of the Mississippi, being the third grand parallel 
division, presented by the surface of the soil. 
Through these the Red River, and the Arkan- 
saw, hold their unaltered course, and reach the 
Mississippi without a fall ; while the Kanzas, the 
La Platte, and the Yellowstone, bending north- 
ward, reach the Missouri, without meeting any 
mountains to oppose their progress. Those rivers 
of secondary magnitude, and whose origin is east 
of the highlands bordering the western desert are 
the Teche, Vermillion, Tensaw, Washitaw, Little 
Missouri, Courtableau, Bo3uf,Crocodile,LiUle Red. 
Grand River, White River, Black River, the Osage, 
Merrimack, Gasconade, and St. Francis. Of these. 
White River, a stream hitherto almost wholly un- 
known, or only known to hunters, and which has 
not received its deserved rank on any existing map. 



2 48 

is one of the most considerable. It was therefore 
with surprise, that 1 found on travelling into those 
remote regions, so considerable a stream, unno- 
ticed by geographers, or only noticed, to attest 
their want of information respecting its length, size, 
tributaries, character, productions, and importance. 
I therefore concluded, that a summary of these 
particulars, as observed by myself during a tour 
into that quarter, would be an acceptable piece 
of service, and with this view, began these obser- 
vations. 

White River originates among the Pawnee 
Mountains, near the 97th degree of west longi- 
tude, and about the 36th of north latitude. And 
after running in a very serpentine course for thir- 
teen hundred miles, enters the Mississippi, fifty 
miles above the mouth of the Arkansaw, and seven 
hundred above New-Orleans. Its waters, unlike 
most of the western rivers, are beautifully clear 
and transparent, being wholly made up of springs 
which gush from the flinty hills that are found for 
more than half its length, within a hw miles of, 
and often immediately upon its banks. So much 
of the country through which it runs, is therefore 
sterile and rough, but the immediate margin of the 
river, uniformly presents a strip of the richest al- 
luvial bottom land from a quarter of a mile to a 
mile and a half in width. On this, corn, wheat,, 
rye, oats, flax, hemp, and potatoes, have a vigo- 
rous growth, the mildness of the climate, and the 
fertility of the soil combining to render it one of 
the most favourable of all countries for the pur- 
suits of agriculture. Cotton also succeeds on the 



249 

banks of this river as high up as settlements have 
extended, and will hereafter be an important item 
among its agricultural productions. The district 
of tillable land on this river, like many others west 
of the Mississippi, is chiefly confined to its banks, 
which in few instances exceed a mile in width: 
Bordering this, is found a chain of hills on either 
side, which sometimes close in upon the rivers 
banks in perpendicular cliffs, and the adjacent 
country may in general be considered as sterile. 
To this remark, all its tributaries maybe considered 
as exceptions, for they invariably afford, however 
small, strips of the most fertile lands, covered with 
a heavy growth of forest trees and underbrush. 
The cane is also common to this stream in its 
whole course, and affords a nutritious food for 
cows, horses, and hogs, who are fond of, and fatten 
upon it. This plant being an evergreen, cattle may 
feed upon it all winter, and it is accordingly given 
to cattle and horses, by the Indians and hunters, 
as a substitute for hay. 

The only inhabitants on the upper parts of 
White River, so far as inhabitants have penetra- 
ted, are hunters, who live in camps and log cabins, 
and support themselves by hunting the bear, deer, 
huffaloe, elk, beaver, racoon, and other animals 
who are found in great plenty in that region. They 
also raise some corn for bread, and for feeding 
their horses, on preparing for long journeys into 
die woods, or other extraordinary occasions. They 
seldom, however, cultivate more than an acre or 
two, subsisting chiefly on animal food and wild 
honey, and pay no attention to the cultivation of 

32 



250 

garden vegetables, if 1 except some cabbages, 
noticed at a few habitations. When the season of 
hunting arrives, the ordinary labours of a man 
aboul the house and corn-field devolve upon the 
women, whose condition in such, a state of society 
may readily be imagined. They in fact pursue a 
similar course of life with the savages ; having em- 
braced their love of ease, and their contempt for 
agricultural pursuits, with their sagacity in the 
chace, their mode of dressing in skins, their man- 
ners, and their hospitality to strangers. 

The furs and peltries which are collected dur- 
ing repeated excursions in the woods, are taken 
down the river at certain seasons in canoes, and 
disposed of to traders, who visit the lower parts of 
this river for that purpose. Here they receive in 
exchange for their furs, woollen cloths, rifles, knives 
and hatchets, salt, powder, lead, iron for horse 
shoes, blankets, iron pots, shoes, and other arti- 
cles of primary importance in their way of life. 
Those living near the cultivated parts of Lawrence 
County, in Arkansaw Territory, also bring down 
in exchange for such articles, buffaloe beef, pork, 
bears' meat, bees' wax, and honey; which are 
again sold by the traders along the banks of the 
Mississippi, or at New-Orleans. Very little cash 
is paid, and that in hard money only, no bank bills 
of any kind being taken in that quarter. I hap- 
pened to be present, on my return from the head 
waters of White River, at one of these exchanges, 
where a further opportunity was offered of observ- 
ing the manners and character of these savage 
Europeans. Bears' meat was sold at $10 per cwt. 



251 

buffaloe beef at $ 1; cows' beef at $3; pork, in the 
hog, at $3.50; venison hams at 25 cents each; 
wild turkies the same; wild honey at $1 per gal- 
lon; beaver fur $2 per lb. ; bears' skins $1.50 each; 
otters' skins $2 apiece; racoon 25 cents each; 
deers' skins 25 cents per lb. These prices were 
considered high by the purchaser, but they were 
only nominally so, for he paid them off in articles 
at the most exorbitant rates. Common three-point 
or Mackinaw blankets were sold at $8 each ; 
butcher knives at $2; rifle locks at $8; common 
coarse blue cloth at $6 per yard; coffee at 75 
cents per lb. ; salt at $5 per bushel; lead at 25 
cents per lb. ; gunpowder at $2 per lb. ; axes at 
$6 each ; horse shoe nails at $3 per set, &c. The 
trade of this river is consequently attended with 
profits which amply repay for the risks and fatigues 
incident to a voyage in that quarter. Vast quan- 
tities of furs and skins are annually brought down 
this river, with some bees' wax, honey, beef, ba- 
con, &c. and whenever the hunter population 
yields to the farming and mechanical class, the list 
of its productions will be swelled by corn, rye, 
wheat, oats, flax, hemp, and cotton ; a sufficiency 
of each of which has already been raised, to show 
that the climate and soil are well adapted to their 
culture. Its mineral products may also claim our 
future attention. Iron ore, lead, zinc, and manga- 
nese, have already been discovered ; and among 
its earthy minerals may be enumerated marble, 
flint, agate, jasper, hornstone, and rock crystal ; 
specimens of which, with some others, I pick- 
ed up during my journey there. Caves with 



252 

nitre are also common, and large forests of pine 
timber, which will be wanted in the progressing 
settlements on the Mississippi, are situated on its 
northern tributaries, and may be floated down at 
an inconsiderable expense. 

White River runs in its whole length through a 
section of country, which according to a recent 
political division, belongs to the Territory of Ar- 
kansaw ; but several of its tributaries originate in 
Missouri, the chief of which are James River, 
Great North Fork, or Pine River, and Black River, 
with its auxiliaries, Currents, Fourche a Thomas, 
Spring River, Eleven-points, and Strawberry River. 

About one hundred and fifty miles below the 

Pawnee Mountains, the main south fork of White 

River is joined by the War Eagle, and Osage Forks, 

forming what is known among hunters as the three 

forks of White River, a region remarkable for the 

abundance of beaver found in its streams. In the 

course of the succeeding two hundred miles it is 

joined by King's River and Tower Creek on the 

south, and by the Waterbolt or Roaring Fork, and 

James River on the north, the latter being- bv far 

the largest stream it has thus far received, and 

contributing nearly as much water as all the others 

put together. From the mouth of James River to 

its junction with the Mississippi, it is successively 

joined by Long, Bull, Swan, Beaver, and Big 

Creeks, by the Little North Fork, the Great North 

Fork orPine River, Black River, Bayou de Loutsho, 

and Cosh River, on the north ; and on the south by 

Bear Creek, Crooked Creek, Buffaloe Fork, and 

Little Red River; and it is finally connected with 



253 

the Arkansaw River by a natural canal called the 
cutoff, about thirty miles above its junction with 
the Mississippi, and which affords a navigable 
water communication at all seasons. Many of I he 
above tributaries are streams of no ordinary mag- 
nitude, and afford boat navigation for many hun- 
dred miles ; and they are all characterized by 
strips of rich alluvial lands on their banks. James 
River, Buffaloe Fork, Great North Fork, Black 
River, and .Little Red River, merit individual at- 
tention. 

James River. This stream originates in high- 
lands a few miles south of the Gasconade, in Mis- 
souri Territory, and after running in a southwest 
direction for two hundred miles, in the course of 
which it is swelled by Findley's River, and by 
other streams, forms a junction with White River 
one thousand miles above its mouth, [ts waters 
have the purity of crystal ; it lies under a climate 
the most mild, salubrious, and delightful; and on 
its banks are situated a body of the most fertile 
and beautiful lands which the whole valley of the 
Mississippi affords. The timber on its banks is 
abundant, a remark which cannot with justice be 
made of many parts of the adjacent country, and 
is remarkable for its size and its value, and nothing 
can exceed the vigour and the verdure of vegetable 
nature on this beautiful and neglected stream. 
Prairies are also found within a mile of its western 
banks, and extend towards the Grand Osage, as 
far as the eye can reach, level as a graduated 
plain, and waving with tall grass, on which the Elk, 



254 

the Buffaloe, and the Deer, feed in countless num- 
bers. 

Findlej River forms a junction with this stream, 
near the centre of this choice body of land, and 
about one hundred miles above its mouth. Twen- 
ty miles above the junction of these streams, on 
the immediate banks of James River, are situated 
some valuable lead mines, which have been known 
to the Osage Indians, and to some White River 
hunters, for many years. The Indians have been 
in the habit of procuring lead for bullets at that 
place, by smelting the ore in a kind of furnace, 
made by digging a pit in the ground, and casing it, 
with some ilat stones, placed so as to resemble the 
roof of a house inverted ; — such is the richness of 
the ore, and the ease with which it melts. The 
ore has not, however, been properly explored, 
and it is impossible to say how extensive the beds 
or veins may prove. Some zinc, in the state of a 
sulphuret, is found accompanying it. There is not 
one inhabitant on all this stream ; my own cabin, 
erected for a temporary purpose at the mines in 
January last, is the only human habitation within 
two hundred miles of that place. 

Buffaloe Fork. This river originates near the 
north banks of the Arkansaw, and after traversing 
a rocky country for about one hundred and eighty 
miles in a northeast course, joins White River at 
the Buffaloe Shoals, about seven hundred miles 
above the Mississippi. It is a fine region for game, 
and affords some good lands. 
* Great North Fork, or Pine River. This is a 
stream of two hundred miles in length, and a hun- 



2>)5 

dred yards wide at its mouth. Its waters are clear, 
being entirely made up of springs, which are nu- 
merous all along its banks, but the navigation is 
interrupted by rapids. It originates with James 
River and the Gasconade, in a ridge of high land, 
which throws a part of its waters into the Missouri, 
and a part into the Mississippi, the streams run- 
ning in opposite directions. In travelling into 
that country, I accidentally arrived at the extreme 
head of this river, where it consists only of some 
drizzling springs, and pursued it down, in all its 
windings, to its junction with White River, about 
twelve miles below the mouth of BufFaloe Fork. 
It is bordered on both sides by limestone blufFs, 
covered generally with tall pines, and affording 
some detached strips of valuable land. On the 
whole, it must, however, be considered a sterile 
region, which will never admit of a dense popula- 
tion. The bottoms are overrun by cane, and brier, 
which render travelling extremely fatiguing. 

This stream appears generally to have been 
considered by geographers as the head of White 
River, which is accordingly made to originate 
on most maps at this place. The error has been, 
in some degree, corrected in Robinson's new map 
of Louisiana, lately published at Natchez, which 
may be esteemed the best map extant respecting 
that section of country. He calls it Pine River. 

Black River. This large, deep, and gentle river, 
is composed of numerous auxiliary streams, which 
draw their waters from the counties of Wayne, 
New-Madrid, and Lawrence, the two former lying 
in Missouri Territory, and the latter in Arkansaw, 



256 

It is navigable with boats of the largest burden, at 
all seasons of the jear, for more than one hundred 
miles. Little Black, Curren's, Fourche a Thomas, 
Eleven-points, Spring River, and Strawberry Ri- 
ver, are all streams of considerable size, coming in 
on the west, and deserve particular notice on the 
future maps of that country. Their banks af- 
ford choice bodies of fertile lands, which are 
already the seat of many plantations and farms, 
where corn, rye, wheat, oats, tlax, hemp, and cot- 
ton, are raised in the greatest perfection, and the 
settlements are rapidly increasing. Considerable 
quantities of beef and pork are also put up for the 
New-Orleans market, every facility being afforded 
by the luxuriance of grass in the woods, and 
the abundance of acorns in the fall, for raising 
and fattening hogs and cattle. Lawrence coun- 
ty is generally considered among the first farm- 
ing districts, west of the Mississippi. Davidson- 
ville, the seat of justice for this county, is situa- 
ted on the west bank of Black River, at the junc- 
tion of Spring River. The settlements on Straw- 
berry River, on the Currents, Fourche a Thomas, 
Poke Bayou, and other places, are in a flourishing 
state of advance. 

Little Red River. This stream issues near the 
sources of Buffalo Fork, and runs parallel with the 
Arkansaw for a great distance, but inclines gradu- 
ally to the northeast, and joins White River, about 
two hundred miles above its mouth. It affords a 
considerable body of choice land, but is subject 
to very sudden rises, which overflow its banks, 



257 

and have retarded, in some degree, the further 
settlement of its valley. 

Such are the principal tributaries of White River, 
a stream which is navigable with keel-boats of iO 
tons burthen, to the foot of Buffaloe Shoals, a dis- 
tance of seven hundred miles from its mouth, and 
may be ascended with light vessels five hundred 
miles higher. It draws its waters from a district 
of country about three hundred miles in width, by 
seven or eight hundred in length, having on its 
borders and tributaries large bodies of very rich 
lands, mixed with much that is poor and unfit for 
cultivation, but taking into view its advantageous 
situation for commerce, its political relation to the 
two territories in a part of each of which it lies, and 
the extensive bodies of farming lands on James 
River, Buffaloe Fork, and Black River, we may an- 
ticipate the period when a large population shall 
find their support on its banks — when numerous 
villages and towns shall decorate its banks and 
the productive labour of its inhabitants swell 
greatly the commerce of the westerncountry while 
they themselves command an important influence 
m its political transactions. 



33 



ARTICLE V. 

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION* 



Sec. 


1. 


Hot Springs of Ouachitta. 


Sec. 


2. 


List of Steam-boats on the Mississippi 


Sec. 


3. 


Precious Stones of Missouri. 


Sec. 


4. 


Manganese. 


Sec. 


5. 


Antique Silver Cup. 


Sec. 


6. 


Lead Mines of Millersburg, Kentucky 


Sec. 


7. 


Antique Glasses in Hamburgh, New- 
York. 


Sec. 


8. 


Dwarf Skeletons. 



SECTION I. 

Hot Springs of Ouachitta, ( Washitaw.) 

The attention of the traveller in the interior of 
Missouri and Arkansaw, is frequently arrested by 
the novelty of the scenery, and the wild and singu- 
larly fanciful aspect of the country ; and he is of- 
ten induced to stop to survey some cavern, water- 
fall, high loose-hanging cliff, or other natural 
phenomenon. But if the country be surveyed with 
a single eye to its natural curiosities, the Hot 
Springs of Washitaw will be found by far the most 
wonderful and interesting of any yet noticed. 



259 

These springs, which have been known for ma- 
ny years, are situated on a stream called Hot 
Spring Creek, which falls into the Washitaw River 
eight miles below. They lie fifty miles south of 
the Arkansaw River, in Clark county, territory of 
Arkansaw, (lately Missouri,) and six miles W. of 
the road from Cadron to Mount Prairie on Red 
River. 

The approach to the Springs lies up the valley 
of the creek, which is partly made up of its waters. 
On leaving the banks of the Washitaw, the face of 
the country almost imperceptibly changes from a 
rich soil, covered with a luxuriant growth of trees, 
to a sterile mineral tract, and on coming near the 
springs, the traveller is presented with one of the 
most picturesque views of nature. On the right 
hand rises the Hot Mountain, with the springs 
issuing at its foot; on the left, the Cold Mountain, 
which is little more than a confused and mighty 
pile of stones, and the view in front is terminated 
by a high point of land, which makes down gradu- 
ally into the valley, and separates the creek into 
two forks, of nearly equal size. 

The Hot Mountain is about three hundred feet 
high, rising quite steep, and presenting occasion- 
ally ledges of rocks, and terminates at top in a 
confused mass of broken rocks, with here and 
there a pine or oak tree. Its sides, notwithstand- 
ing their sterility and the steepness of the ascent, are 
covered by a most luxuriant growth of vines, par- 
ticularly muscadine, the fruit of which is delicious. 
Haws and blackberries are also found in great 
abundance. 



260 

The Cold Mountain is separated from the Hot ? 
by a valley of about fifty yards wide, through which 
the creek flows, is nearly as steep as the other, 
about of an equal height, and terminates in the same 
confused manner. Some pine trees are found on 
it, but its side are destitute of vegetation. 

The springs issue near the foot of the Hot. 
Mountain, at an elevation of about ten feet above 
the level of the creek. They are very numerous 
all along the hill side, and the water, which runs 
in copious streams, is quite hot. It will scald the 
hand, and boil an egg hard in ten minutes. Its 
temperature is considered that of boiling water, but 
Doct. Andrews of Red River, tells me it cannot be 
reckoned over 200° of Fahrenheit. There is a 
solitary spring, situated seventy feet higher than 
the others, on the side of the mountain, but it is 
also of an equal temperature, and differs in no re- 
spect from those below. A dense fog continually 
hangs over the springs, and upon the side of the 
hill, which at a distance, looks like a number of 
furnaces in blast. It is this fog, which is water in 
the state of vapour, which is probably condensed 
by the cold air at night, and produces such a rank 
growth of vines on the side of the mountain, where 
otherwise there would hardly exist a sign of vege- 
table life. 

An idea of the beneficial effects of this water is 
generally prevalent throughout the territory, and 
numbers annually resort to the springs. They are 
thought serviceable in rheumatisms, ulcers, sore- 
eyes, dropsy, and pains in the breast : and are 
said to prove efficacious in all chronic com- 



261 

plaints. The method of using the water is vari- 
ous. Bathing and sweating, are generally resorted 
to. It is also drank as hot as can be borne, and is 
not productive of nausea in the stomach, like com- 
mon warm water. Of the chymical or medicinal 
properties of the water, little is known. An analy- 
sis is said to have been made, which indicated a 
little carbonat of lime. The water looks extremely 
clear, pure, and beautiful, and the substances 
which are united with it, (if any besides caloric and 
lime,) are held in solution, for it deposits no sedi- 
ment by standing. 

There is abundance of a beautiful green moss 
growing in the springs, near the edges, and their 
devious courses to the creek below, are only indi- 
cated by a more vigorous growth of grass and moss 
all along the borders, and a brighter green. That 
warm water is a most stimulating food for plants 
has been frequently asserted. A satisfactory evi- 
dence is here afforded of it. 

The mineralogical character of the country 
around the springs, is highly interesting. Three 
miles above, is a quarry of oil-stone, (novaculite,) 
©f the most valuable kind. The stone has a 
very compact texture, is heavy, translucent, and 
gives a fine edge to a razor, &c. It is consi- 
dered equal to those imported from Turkey. The 
rock formations here, are limestone, slate, and 
quartz. Veins of white quartz are found running 
through the slate rock four or five feet wide, and 
detached pieces of it, beautifully crystallized, 
(rock-crystal,) are found in plenty in the neighbour- 
hood of the springs. A vein of singular earth, a 



262 

kind of lithomarge, is also found at the springs. It 
is soft, like clay, of a soponaceous feel, and of a 
texture so delicately fine, that it feels to the touch 
like satin. It would probably operate as a deter- 
gent to the oily particles of newly woven cloth, 
and in this respect answer the purposes of ful- 
ler's earth. 

At the Cove on Washitaw River, fifteen miles 
below the springs, there is a body of loadstone, 
also white, and blue vitriol, iron ores, and mica. 
Unmagnetical pyrites of iron, of a brass-yellow 
colour, and crsytallized in cubes, is also the 
product of that neighbourhood ; and there is a 
stone, which on burning and exposure to the air, 
yields a saline substance, of the nature of Glauber's 
salts. 

The Hot Springs are situated on public land, 
which is only valuable on account of the springs, 
and such minerals as may exist in that quarter. 
It is too sterile for farming. A New-Madrid claim 
has been lately laid upon them, by colonels Ham- 
mond and Rector, of St. Louis, and by some others, 
so that the title is in dispute. They are destined 
to become a place of great resort, — the BaUston of 
the south. 



263 
SECTION II. 



List of steam boats on the Mississippi and its 
tributary streams. (1819.) 



Names. Tonnage. 
Ramapo ....100, 
Rising States 150, 
Maid of Orleans 100, 

Hamlet 100, 

Perseverance 50, 
Johnson .... 75, 

Eagle 100, 

Vesta 110, 

Harriet 40, 

Constitution . . 45, 
Louisiana .... 60, 
Gov. Shelby.. 60, 
Franklin .... 80, (sunk) 
Rifleman .... 60, 
Newport .... 45, 
Expedition . . 150, 
General Clark 150, 
Henderson . . 150, 

Tornado 250 f 

Elizabeth . .. .175, 
Missouri Pack- 
et 100, 

Post Boy (for passengers 

only) 
West. Engineer 40. 



No. 


Names. 


Tonnage. 


No 


1. 




.200, 

.280, 


28. 


2. 


Vesuvius . . . 


29. 


3. 




.200, 


30. 


4. 


Alabama . . . 


.300, 


31. 


5. 


Columbus. . . 


400, 


32. 


6. 


Tamerlane . 


.200, 


33. 


7. 


James Ross . 


.250, 


34. 


8. 


United States 500, 


35. 


9. 


Paragon . . . 


.250, 


36. 


10. 


I'hos. Jefferson 200, 


37. 


11. 


Ohio 


.300, 


38. 


12. 


Gen. Jackson 


100, 


39. 


13. 


Maysville . . . 


.152, 


40. 


14. 


Exchange . . . 


.154, 


41. 


15. 


Volcano . . . 


.140, 


42. 


16. 


Madison . . . 


.100, 


43. 


17. 


Kentucky . . . 


. 60, 


44. 


18. 


Hecla . ... 


.100, 


45. 


19. 


Napoleon . . . 


.200, 


46. 


20. 


Washington . 


.150, 


47. 


21. 


Buffaloe . . . 


.100, 


48. 


22. 


James Monroe 


; 70, 




23. 


Cincinnati 


. 85, 


49. 


24. 


St. Louis . . . 


.200, 




25. 


General Pike 


75, 


50. 


26. 


Independence 


100, 




27. 


St. Louis Pack 










.150, 





7,306 Tom, 



264 

In addition to this, there are two new boats 
building at Pittsburgh, one at Wheeling, one at 
Steubenville, one at Marietta, two at Cincinnati, 
one at Frankford, two at Shippingport, one at Ma- 
dison, and two at New Albany, making a total 
number of sixty-three. There are also several 
more in contemplation, so that it is probable ano- 
ther year will considerably augment the number. 
The first steam boat on the western waters, was 
built at Pittsburgh in 1 81] , eight years ago. Hence 
it appears there has been an average increase of 
eight boats per annum ; but by far the greatest 
proportion have been built within the last three 
years. 
7306 Tons at 4 cents per lb. freight up 

from New-Orleans, amounts to $584,480.00 

7,306 Tons at 1 cent per lb. freight 

down to New-Orleans 146,120.00 

1 passengers down in each boat at % 60 39,800. 00 

5 do. up in each boat at % 100 31,500.00 



$801,900.00 



It is presumable that each boat will perform 
three trips to and from New-Orleans per annum ; 
which will make an aggregate amount of freight 
and passage money of $2,405,700.00 per annum. 
From this some idea of the trade, population, and 
business of the vast valley of the Mississippi may- 
be formed. And let it be remembered at the 
same time, that the transportation of merchandise 
is not wholly done by steam boats. The Ohio and 
Mississippi are still lined with keel boats and 



265 

barges, and much of the produce is still carried to 
market in flat-bottomed boats, of a temporary con- 
struction, which are not calculated to ascend the 
stream, and are generally sold for a trifle, or aban- 
doned. 

The following is extracted from a comparative 
statement of the increase of the principal articles 
of produce, which have come to the New-Orleans 
market for a period of three years. 

Productions. 1813. 1816. 1817. 

Bacon & Hams, cwt. 7000 13,000 18,000 

Butter, lbs. 500 1,800 

Cotton, bales 60,000 63,000 65,000 

Corn, bushels 120,000 130,000 140,000 

Flour, barrels T5,000 98,000 190,000 

Molasses, gallons 500,000 800,000 1,000,000 

Pork, barrels 8,000 9,700 22,000 

Sugar, hhds. 5,000 7,300 28,000 

Taffia, gallons 150,000 300,000 400,000 

Tobacco, hhds. 5,000 7,800 28,000 

Wheat, bushels 95,000 

Whiskey, gallons 150,000 230,000 250,000 



SECTION III. 

Precious Stones of Missouri. 

Ascending the Mississippi River with a particu- 
lar view to the mineralogical character of the 
country, I have been enabled to detect several 
minerals of a rare and useful|kind, which a less at- 

34 



26b 

tentive observer may have passed unnoticed ; and 
among them, carnelian, jasper, and opal, may be par- 
ticularly mentioned. 

Several specimens of these gems, now before 
me, were found on the banks of the Mississippi, 
at the Grand Tower, Herculaneum, and St. Louis ; 
and for transparency, hardness, and riches of co- 
lour, are only excelled by the finest oriental speci- 
mens. 

The avidity with which they are sought by 
lapidaries, and the high value set upon them from 
the remotest antiquity, and by all nations, gives 
the subject additional importance, and may render 
some further particulars acceptable. The traffic 
in those articles has been almost wholly confined 
to Europe, Asia, and Africa, while the new world 
has been considered destitute of them. At least, 
but few traces of them have been discovered in 
North America, and none have heretofore beeia 
aflbrded by the United States. But the more we 
examine into the mineral character of our country, 
the more interesting is it found, and every year is 
adding some new item to the catalogue of useful 
minerals. Hence the opinion is imperceptibly 
acquiring strength, that it is the neglect which this 
department of science has experienced, (and not 
the poverty of our streams and mountains) that has 
heretofore prevented us from setting a proper es- 
timate upon the mineral resources of our divers! 
fied and extensive country. 

I. Carnelian. Of this stone I have eleven speci 
mens. The colour of the first five is blood-red,, 
intermingled with flesh-red, and honey yellow. 



2G7 

and exhibiting altogether a clouded appearance 
They are transparent in a considerable degree, 
possess much lustre, and so hard as not to be 
scratched by the file ; nor does the nitric or muri- 
atic acid affect them in the least. The several 
pieces are in the shape of detached lumps of an 
elliptical figure; or fragments of no determinate 
shape, possessing a smooth conchoidal fracture. 
The sixth specimen is globular, of a clear honey 
yellow, intermixed on one side with dark red spots.) 
and on the other presenting two sections of a cir- 
cle joined at their opposite extremities, and com- 
posed of concentric lamina of a reddish hue, giving 
the whole, when held up to the light, an appear- 
ance of singular beauty. The other five specimens 
are of an uniform smoke-brown colour, and pos- 
sess considerable transparency. 

2. Jasper. A specimen of this now before me, 
is the fragment of a nodule or oviform piece which 
has been broken nearly through its centre longi- 
tudinally. The fracture is smooth conchoidal. 
It is perfectly opaque, and shining, and consists of 
concentric layers of olive green, alternating with 
yellowish-brown. Another specimen is flesh and 
rose-red, in alternate stripes ; and a third is striped 
blue and white. 

3. Opal. Of this rare stone I have only suc- 
ceeded in procuring one specimen; it is, however, 
one of incomparable beauty. The colour is such 
a compound of blue, yeiiow, and white, as charac- 
terizes the richest oriental specimens ; neither 
can be said to predominate, but are so blended as 



268 

to present a changeable hue when held in different 
directions to the light. The lustre is pearly : in 
transparency it is opalescent. The outside is rough, 
and has a vitreous appearance. 

In addition to these, it may be mentioned that 
some stones of greal lustre, transparency and hard- 
ness, and of a rich sniform yellow colour, are also 
found, and which appear to me to partake of the 
character of the Brazilian topaz. The Mississippi 
also affords tabular pieces of a silicious stone, so 
colourless and transparent, that they would proba- 
bly be considered as Scotch pebble by the lapida- 
ries. Of both of these, I possess numerous speci- 
mens. 

These stones are all brought down the Missis- 
sippi during the spring floods, when the water 
runs with the utmost velocity, and are washed up on 
those sand bars, islands, and beaches of the river, 
against which the current sets the strongest. Of 
their original situation, we can only form conjec- 
tures. They are probably afforded by one of the 
head streams of the Mississippi. The Missouri is 
not characterised by them, and they are reported 
to be in greater plenty above than below its junction 
with the Mississippi. Rock River and the River 
Desmoines, are said to be characterised by a sin- 
gular variety of stones and rocks, and may proba- 
bly be the sources from which these fragments 
have been carried down. Desmoines enters the 
Mississippi, two hundred and thirty-three miles 
above St. Louis, and Rock River, three hundred 
and ninety miles, which is about one hundred and 



269 

twenty-seven miles below the lead mines of Prairie 
DuChicn. 



SECTION IV. 

Manganese. 

"This useful mineral has recently beea discover- 
ed on Big Sandy River, in the vicinity of Green- 
upsburg, Kentucky, where it is said to exist in 
great abundance, and judging from the external 
character of a sample in my possession, I am led 
to think it is of a quality no way inferior to that of 
foreign production. 

" Manganese is a heavy black, metallic sub- 
stance, resembling in the more perfect specimens 
cast iron, and soiling the fingers like soot. It is 
employed in the arts by the bleacher, potter, and 
glass-maker, and for the purpose of experiment in 
the laboratory of the chymist. By the bleacher 
it is used in the preparation of oxy-muriatic acid, 
according to the method of bleaching now univer- 
sally pursued. By the potter it is employed in 
communicating a black glazing to the ware. By the 
glass-maker for depriving his compositions of the 
green hue given by iron, and occasionally as a 
colouring ingredient : and by the chymist, for pro- 
curing oxygen gas, which substance it yields in 
great abundance. Its importance as an item in 
the catalogue of useful minerals afforded by the 
United States, is therefore considerable; and it 



270 

may be regarded as an advantageous discovery in a 
country which has hitherto been supplied with this 
article, exclusively by Great Britain, imported 
either directly from the island of Britain, or from 
her dependencies in Nova Scotia/' 

The above was originally inserted in the Ken- 
tucky Herald, a paper printed at Louisville, under 
the signature of " A Traveller." Manganese is 
also found on the Merrimack River, in Missouri ; 
at Bennington, Barre, and Monckton, in Vermont; 
and at Franconia in New-Hampshire. That on the 
Merrimack, is a discovery I made last fall, (181 8,) 
on a tour into the interior of Missouri. It lies in 
vast quantity, about forty miles southwest of Poto- 
si, on the Indian trace to the Gasconade and 
Osage; and accompanied by ores of iron. I have 
also met with a body of manganese, on the divid- 
ing ridge between Eleven-points, and Fourche 
a Thomas, two streams running into Black River. 

In addition to the uses of manganese already 
enumerated, it may be mentioned, that it is em- 
ployed in small quantity in the manufacture of en- 
amels and artificial gems or pastes. It is an ingredi- 
ent in that kind of mortar or cement, which is in- 
tended to stand under water, as in the construc- 
tion of light houses, cisterns, canals, &c. It is em- 
ployed as a pigment, both for painting upon wood 
and glass, and has some uses in the farrier's art. 
In glass-making it is of the highest importance ; 
without it, hardly a piece of good crystal glass 
could be made, and it has been employed in this 
art from the earliest time. It is known to have 
been used before the commencement of the Christian 
era, and long before its peculiar nature was under- 



271 

stood. Its ancient name of glass-soap still conveys 
an idea of its particular use, which is to deprive 
the glass of any accidental foulness of colour. If all 
the materials of glass could be prepared in a state 
of absolute purity, and then melted without coming 
in contact with smoke or any other carbonaceous 
matter, manganese would be unnecessary. But 
this, however easy in a chymical experiment, is 
impracticable in a manufactory in the large way. 
If the materials were all pure, they would melt 
colourless, there would be no need of manganese 
to rectify the colour ; but to obtain this purity 
would cost a greater sum, than the article would 
sell for when made. When, therefore, every precau- 
tion has been taken in the preparation and purifi- 
cation of the materials the last portions of iron must 
be got rid of by a small dose of manganese. This 
possesses the property of discharging the green 
hue which glass acquires from iron — from the 
iron which is chymically combined in the state of 
an oxyd with the sand, the potash, and every other 
ingredient employed. When the dose of manganese 
is too great, it communicates a violet tinge to the 
glass ; if more be added, the colour is full and rich, 
and if an excess be employed, it turns black and 
opaque from the intensity of colour. If the quan- 
tity taken be too little, a greenish hue will be re- 
maining in the glass; and it requires a skill and 
nicety in the proportioning this ingredient, which 
is only to be acquired by practice. Regard must 
constantly be had to the purity of the materials 
used, and the varying degrees of purity from day to 
day, according as good or bad sanrl or alkali b^ 



272 J J 

employed, or as a defect in the preparation is ob- 
servable, so that it is a subject requiring the con- 
stant attention of the glass-maker, and no invari- 
able, rule applicable to all times and situations, 
can be given. The common dose to a pot of flint- 
glass, is three ounces, but this indicates the mate- 
rials in a state of considerable purity. The con- 
struction of the furnace, the kind of wood or other 
fuel employed, and other circumstances, have also 
a prodigious effect in varying the result of the same 
composition. That which will melt well and pro- 
duce an article of excellent quality, at a furnace, 
which in the technical phrase runs hot, may pro- 
duce a very defective ware, at another, where a 
less intense degree of heat is given, or less skill 
has been manifested in the smelting. It is not 
alone in the excellency of a receipt, that the art 
of making glass consists, it is necessary also that 
the art of inciting be understood ; and there is full 
as much skill required in the latter, as in the for- 
mer : and 1 believe artists oftener fail from inat- 
tention to melting of glass, than from a defect in 
their compositions. For the receipts, although 
various, are generally good, — they do not prepare 
the materials with sufficient purity — they do not 
compound them with sufficient precision — and 
above all, they do not melt them with sufficient skill 
To excel in melting, requires a well constructed 
furnace, one built of the best materials put together 
in the best manner; and a good furnace is ot 
little use, without refractory melting pots, and both 
these must fall short of success, if not heated by 
the best fuel— by the best wood, well dried, 01 the 



275 

atrongest inflammable stone-coal. Hence the ne 
cessity of an unremitted attention to these subjects, 
— of a knowledge of the principles of the different 
substances employed — of precision in the practice 
— of skill in the theory. Hence the importance of 
chymical, as well as mineralogical knowledge. 
For an artist who is continually operating with alka- 
lies, salts, clays, sands, &c, should be perfectly con- 
versant with their nature, properties, and affini- 
ties; the changes they undergo by mixture with 
each other, by exposure to heat, air, light, and un- 
der every other situation in which they are capa- 
ble of being placed. To a want of this informa- 
tion, we may attribute the complaints which have 
been so universal against American glass. But 
we are growing wise, and shall, by and by, consider 
a man a better artist, for having had a better edu- 
cation. 

Manganese has not been classed as a peculiar 
metal over forty years. It was formerly consider- 
ed as an ore of iron. In the state in which we see 
it in commerce, it is the oxyd of manganese of chy- 
mistry. On exposure to a high heat, in a close 
crucible, with charcoal, it is reduced to a metallic 
state. 



35 



276 

SECTION V, 
Antique Silver Cup. 

There is now in the possession of Mr. Samuel 
Hill, of St. Clair county, Illinois, a silver cup which 
was taken from one of the mounds at Marietta, on 
the Ohio. 

In a tour lately mode through that country, I paid 
a visit to Mr. Hill, at his house, near Cahokia, and 
had an opportunity to examine the cup. It is in the 
form of an inverted cone, measuring three and a 
half inches across at top, two and a half at bottom, 
and four inches in height. It appears to be of 
pure silver, and so skilfully wrought that no traces 
of the plating hammer are discernible. The bot- 
tom, which is circular, has been separately forged, 
accurately fitted to the sides or barrel of the cup, 
and soldered in, and the line of attachment is 
plainly observable. Its interior surface has been 
gilt, or washed with a bright yellow untarnishable 
metal, which is undoubtedly gold; but the gilding 
is impaired in some places, and the vessel appears 
to have been considerably used. 

I am further enabled to state, from a conversa- 
tion with Mr. Hill, that the cup was found in a 
mound at Marietta, half a mile east of those re- 
markable ancient fortifications on the Muskingum, 
which have attracted the notice and the wonder of 
travellers since the earliest settlement of the coun- 
try. The mound is situated on a woody plain, 
with a gentle declivity towards the river, and a 



277 

femall stream washes its base ; and during the au- 
tumnal rains, or the melting of the snow in springy 
runs with the velocity of a torrent. Thus it has 
gradually washed away the earth, and laid open the 
mound for a considerable space, and in this situa- 
tion the cup was noticed by the discoverer, ft was 
then in a bruised and shapeless mass, and foul 
from adhering clay, &c. ; but being taken to a sil- 
versmith, was put into the shape it now presents, 
which is probably the shape it originally had. Its 
value, by weight, at this time, is about $15. It 
bears no device, or ornamental work of any kind, 
being a perfectly plain, heavy piece of workman- 
ship. 

It is impossible to view this relic of antiquity 
without feeling the strongest interest in the subject, 
and an irresistible desire to know by what nation 
or tribe of people it was fabricated ; at what period 
of the world, and why they have become extinct, 
or abandoned the country, without leaving any 
other traces of their history, but what are to be 
drawn from mounds, fortifications, and other anala- 
gous relics, which are every day found in the path 
of the emigrant and traveller. But we must wait 
till facts accumulate, before the mystery can be 
unravelled. We cannot, however, contemplate the 
present discovery, without admitting the conclu- 
sion, that whoever were the manufacturers of this 
vessel, and whatever the epoch to which we refer 
its origin, they certainly possessed a greater skill 
and knowledge of mining, minerals, and mechan- 
ic arts, than any of the savage tribes who inhabit- 



278 

ed the country when first visited by Columbus. 
Americus, Cortez, Cabot, Hudson, or La Salle. 
It is not supposed that the Mexicans, however ad- 
vanced towards refinement, when conquered by 
Cortez, possessed the skill in working silver, which 
is indicated by the Marietta cup. Neither do any 
of the savage tribes at the present day, after an in- 
tercourse and acquaintance of nearly 300 years 
with Europeans, possess the ordinary skill of the 
silversmith, plater, or»refiner. 



SECTION VI. 

Lead Mines of Jllillersburgh, Kentucky. 

These mines are situated 28 miles north of Lex- 
ington, on the main road leading to Maysville 
They lie in the town of Millersburgh, Bourbon 
county, and 8 miles north of Paris, the county 
seat. 

They were discovered in the year 1799, in an 
extraordinary manner. A farmer standing on an 
eminence, overlooking a cornfield on the planta- 
tion of Maj. Miller, observed the stalks in commo- 
tion, produced by the trembling of the earth in 
that place, which continued to increase until the 
earth exploded ; when the farmer, terrified with 
fear, ran home. Some days afterwards, plough- 
ing in the same field, he turned up a lump of lead 
ore with the plough, and this gave the hint for 
making a search. On digging, a large body of 



279 

*>re was struck at no great depth ; and a number 
of discoveries have since been made in that neigh- 
bourhood, the principal of which is Elliot's mine. 
I should hesitate to mention the extraordinary 
phenomenon attending this discovery, were it not 
authorized by the most respectable and intelli- 
gent persons of that neighbourhood. 

The effects of the explosion were discernible 
for two miles in a particular direction, which is 
that of the vein of lead ore, as was found by sink- 
ing in various places upon it. Mr. Elliot sunk a 
shaft 40 feet deep in pursuit of the vein of ore, and 
in that distance there was a gradual increase in 
its size, and it was left when the vein was the 
largest, and the prospect of arriving at a body of 
ore, the most flattering. 

The ore found in this vein was imbedded in 
white quartz, pervading a rock of ^hard blue lime- 
stone, which underwent a decomposition on expo- 
sure to the air and weather. The ore, when well 
cleaned, often produced 75 per cent, in the large 
way ; and Mr. Elliott, who has since carried on 
the mining business in Washington county, (Mis- 
souri,) tells me he considers the prospect more 
flattering at that place, than at any mine he has 
seen west of the Mississippi. Not that there is a 
greater bodv of ore in view, or that the district oi 
lead ore is any wise so extensive ; but such pros- 
pects as do exist are of a character entirely to be 
depended upon ; and such as, if the vein was fol- 
lowed up, would more certainly lead to a large 
body of ore. He thinks it would justify the ex- 
penditure of a considerable sum in digging and ex- 



280 

ploring ; that to do it effectually, such a sum would 
be required, and that such an expenditure would 
undoubtedly lead to an invaluable discovery of 
ore. 

These mines were worked under the authority 
of a lease from Maj. Miller, proprietor of the soil.- 



SECTION VII. 

Antique Glasses, discovered in Hamburgh, Niagara 
County, JVeiv- York. 

" An opinion is entertained by many well inform-* 
ed persons in the United States, that the country 
has, at some remote period, been inhabited by a 
civilized people, prior to its settlement or subjuga- 
tion by the savages : and to the many evidences 
furnished to strengthen the opinion by the remains 
of fortifications, tumuli, &c. may be added the dis- 
covery of a number of pieces of glass, of singular 
workmanship, lately made in Hamburgh, Niagara 
County. 

" I have been favoured with an opportunity to ex- 
amine one of these glasses, and on the authority of 
my informant am enabled to remark, that they were 
taken up about two months ago from an ancient 
barrow in the town of Hamburgh, where they were 
found deposited in an earthen pot. Contiguous 
to this pot were also found a skull, and some other 
bones of the human frame, of an unusual size. 
This mound, or supposed repository of the dead, is 



281 

situated in an uncultivated part of the town, and 
several trees were growing upon it at the time the 
excavation was made; some of which were judg- 
ed to be upwards of two feet in diameter. 

" The glass which I had an opportunity to exam- 
ine, (and I am informed they are all alike,) is in the 
form of a large barrel-shaped bead ; consisting of 
a tube of transparent green glass, covered with an 
opaque coarse red enamel. Its length 9 tenths of 
an inch ; its greatest width 6 1-2 tenths of an inch ; 
and the bore of the tube 2 tenths of an inch. Near 
the circle of the bore of this tube is an aperture of 
the size of a large needle, perforating the tube 
from one end to the other. The enamel which 
covers the tube of transparent glass, appears to 
have been ornamented with painting, in figures re- 
sembling a spindle, or two inverted sections of a 
circle; but they are now hardly perceptible, as 
the bead appears to have been considerably worn. 

" But the circumstance most indicative of art in 
the making of this bead, is a species of enamelling 
which has been performed both on the external 
and internal surfaces of the tube, previous to its 
being covered by the coarse red enamel. This 
second enamel is white, and as the external sur- 
face of the tube was not smooth, but in parrallel 
strie or veins, exhibits the appearance of a white 
vine between the green tube and the red enamel. 
This enamelling appears to me to have been done, 
not by melting on any vitreous composition, as is 
practised at the present day, but by the effect of 
calcination for some time in a low red heat. This, 
it is known, will deprive glass, especially green 



282 

glass, of its transparency j and render the surface 
white to a certain depth. 

44 The composition of the tube of glass, I have 
judged to be simply a silicious sand and an alkali ; 
probably with a small addition of lime or vegetable 
ashes. It is hard, and will not receive scratches 
like the lead glasses, and I conclude from this cir- 
cumstance that there is no lead in the composition. 
Its colour seems also owing to the impurity of the 
materials employed, like the common window and 
bottle glass ; and is probably caused by a minute 
portion of iron in the state of an oxyd, combined 
with the sand and alkali. 

44 The red enamel covering the tube, and the pot 
in which these glasses were found, seem to have 
been constructed of similar materials, as they dif- 
fer very little in colour, texture, or other external 
character. Probably a very fusible brick clay, 
highly impregnated with the oxyd of iron, and pul- 
verized fragments of green glass, are the principal 
ingredients of both. The earthen pot is manifestly 
constructed of different materials from those em- 
ployed far brown pottery at the present period. 
It is a more imperishable substance, of a close tex- 
ture, and vitreous appearance. 

44 I shall not presume to speculate in opinions 
which discoveries of this interesting nature are 
calculated to create ; it may, however, here be 
added, that the fabrication of these glasses would 
suppose a perfection in the arts which none of the 
Indian tribes inhabiting this country at the period 
x>f its discovery, had arrived to. That if introduced 
by the French from Canada, in their earliest com- 



283 

tnunications with the Indians inhabiting the west- 
ern parts of this State, a sufficient time would 
hardly have elapsed for the growth of trees of such 
size as were found upon the mound from which 
these relics were taken. And that if not introduced 
by the French at the period alluded to, we must 
refer their manufacture back to a very remote 
date, and one on which Indian tradition is wholly 
silent." 

The above was originally printed in the Utica 
Patriot (Sept. 1817,) under a fictitious signature. 
Since visiting the western country, I have had oc- 
casion to notice a similar discovery on Big River, 
in the Territory of Missouri. On opening an In- 
dian grave (or what is considered such) on the 
banks of this river, several beads of glass, of a 
similar nature, were found. They were accompa- 
nied by many bones of the human frame, of a most 
extraordinary size, and which indicated a stature 
eight feet in height. The person appeared to have 
been deformed, either by birth or through acci- 
dent ; the right jaw bone running in a straight 
line from the mouth back, while the left preserved 
the usual curve. 

This excavation was made near tbe banks of 
the river, where the soil is a rich alluvion, and 
covered by a heavy growth of forest trees, such as 
are peculiar to the richest Ohio and Mississippi 
bottom lands. 



tf 



284 

SECTION VIIL 

Dwarf Skeletons. 

From ihe Missouri Gazette of November C, 1818. 

A short time since, Mr. Long, the proprietor of 
a farm on (he south side of the Merrimack River, 
about fifteen miles from this place, (St. Louis) dis- 
covered on the scite on which he had fixed his 
dwelling, a number of graves, the' size of which 
appeared uncommonly small. This awakened 
his curiosity, and led him to a minute examination, 
which convinced him they were the remains of 
human beings much smaller than those of the pre- 
sent day. He seemed warranted in this conclu- 
sion, as well from the uniform appearance of ihe 
skeletons, (the length of which in no case exceed- 
ed four feet) as from the teeth, which bore the evi- 
dent marks of those belonging to adult persons. 
He communicated these facts to a gentleman of 
this place, who on Sunday last, together with two 
other gentlemen, accompanied by Doctors Walker 
and Grayson, proceeded to the place of interment. 
They found, as had been stated, in a wood adja- 
cent to the house, a great number of graves, all 
situated on small tumuli or hillocks, raised about 
three feet above the surface ; they examined seve- 
ral, the first of which by actual measurement was 
discovered to be only twenty-three inches in length. 
The grave was carefully cased up on both sides, 
as well as at the head and foot with flat stones ; in 



285 

the bottom also a stone was fixed, on which the 
body was lying* placed on the right side with the 
head to the east. Time had completely destroyed 
all the soft parts of the body, as well as decom- 
posed the bones, which, however, still preserved 
their relative situation. The teeth, which were 
expected to furnish the best, and perhaps only 
data to judge, were found in a state almost perfect, 
being defended by the enamel, which seems only 
to yield to chemical decomposition. To the asto- 
nishment of all, they proved to be the teeth of a 
being, who, if it had not attained the age of pu- 
berty, had unquestionably arrived at that period 
of life when the milk teeth yield to the second or 
permanent set. The molares and incisorcs were of 
the ordinary size of second teeth. The jaw bone 
seemed to have its full complement, unless it was 
the dcntis sapienta, or what is better understood by 
the wisdom teeth, which make their appearance 
from the age of eighteen to twenty-two or twenty- 
three. The next grave examined was on an adja- 
cent mound, and measured twenty-seven inches ; 
it resembled in every respect the first, except that 
the top of it was covered with flat stones placed 
horizontally. Several others were opened, all of 
which presented a uniform appearance ; and none, 
although many were measured, proved to be in 
length more than four feet two or three inches. 

From these facts the mind is brought to the ir- 
resistible conclusion, that these are the remains of 
beings differing altogether from, and inferior in 
general size, to ourselves. 



280 

For if in the subject first mentioned we suppose 
it to be a being of the usual growth, the facts of 
its having attained the age of seven or eight years, 
as seems proven from the teeth, is directly oppo- 
site to, and at war with, the circumstance of its 
being only twenty-three inches lo-ig, the usual 
length of a child eight or ten months old, and jus- 
tifies the conclusion that by nature it was destined 
to be of inferior size. As to the time these bodies 
have been deposited, there is no clue by which to 
form any certain opinion. The bones have been 
thoroughly changed by time, nothing remaining 
but the lime or earthy particles of them, which 
can undergo no further change, and may as well 
be supposed to have been in this state five centu- 
ries ago as one. It is certain they have been there 
an immense length of time, from the largo growth 
of timber on the mounds, and the roots of trees 
which have made their way through the graves. 

The subject certainly invites the attention of 
the learned and curious, and opens an ample field 
for investigation, at least to form some plausible 
conjecture of a race of beings who have inhabited 
our country at a period fir beyond that of which 
tradition gives us any account. 



The following remarks on the same subject from 
the pen of Rufus Pittibone, Esq. of St. Louis, ap- 
peared in the same paper in February ensuing: 

"A publication in your paper of the sixth of No- 
vember last, concerning a discovery of some dwarf 
skeletons, made upon the farm of a Mr. Long, on 
the north bank of the Merrimack River, in this 



287 

county, (St. Louis) together with several letters 
from this place, on the same subject, are now 
going the round of the American papers. As yet, 
I have seen no attempt to account for the size and 
appearance of those skeletons, upon any other 
supposition than that they are the remains of a 
people far less in size than any known at the pre- 
sent day. Unwilling to adopt a belief so contrary 
to the general order of nature and to the history of 
the human species, so far as it has been transmitted 
to us, I shall hazard some conjectures upon the 
subject, which I think will, in some measure, tend 
to dissolve the mystery that hovers over these 
bones, and to reconcile their appearance with 
the general history of our race. To be sure, Na- 
ture, in her sport, has now and then produced 
monsters. A taste for the marvellous among tra- 
vellers and historians, has occasional^ conjured 
up a race of giants, or a nation of pigmies ; but 
when the light of truth has reached us from the 
distant corners of the earth where they were said 
to dwell, we have found them to assume the size, 
shape, and attitude of men, and nothing more. So 
far as observation or history extends, we find the 
species nearly the same in all ages and in all coun- 
tries. Climate has had some effect upon the size 
and upon the complexion. The excessive cold of 
the north has shortened an inch or two the necks 
of the Esquimaux, and the heat of the south has 
coloured the African. But what in this genial cli- 
mate should make dwarfs? Ft is here, if any 
where, that we should naturally expect to find 
giants! All the other productions of nature are 



288 

here brought forth in the highest perfection. And 
shall man here grow a pigmy ? Unless we are 
ready to adopt the opinion of certain naturalists, 
that the human species are the legitimate descend- 
ants of the apes, and that they once wore tails, 
and were of their diminutive size, — unless we are 
ready to believe the history of the Lilliputians, 
and of Tom Thumb, I think we shall discard the 
idea of a nation of dwarfs, as wholly preposter- 
ous. But how shall we account for the appearan- 
ces upon the farm of Mr. Long, upon any other 
supposition ? 

" None of the graves found there exceed four feet 
in length, many of them fall short of three, and 
the teeth found in all of them show that they con- 
tain the remains of human beings who had arrived 
at years of maturity. The manners and customs 
of the Indians with respect to the treatment of 
their dead, will, I think, solve all difficulties ; and 
satisfactorily account for these appearances, with- 
out doing violence to nature. According to the 
testimonies of travellers and historians, it has 
been the custom among many tribes of Indians, to 
hang their dead in baskets upon trees, and upon 
scaffolds, until their flesh was consumed, and 
then to take them down, and clean their bones, 
and bury them. There existed an order of men 
among them called bone-pickers, with long nails like 
claws, whose business and profession it was to 
clean the unconsumed flesh from the bones, pre- 
vious to burial. This custom still exists among the 
Indians on the waters of the Missouri, and ration- 
ally accounts for the appearances upon the farm of 



289 

Mr. Long. The bones of a skeleton of the or- 
dinary size when separated, would naturaliy oc- 
cupy a grave of three or four feet in length It 
appears that in all the graves which were opened, 
the bones, except the teeth, were reduced to a 
chalky substance, so that it would be impossible 
to know, with any certainty, in what state, con- 
dition, or form they were deposited there. These 
skeletons are said to rest on their sides. Taking 
this fact to be true, it goes to strengthen my ideas 
on this subject. In burying a corpse it is natural, 
and so far as we are acquainted, universally the 
custom, to bury them with the face upwards. We 
can look upon our dead friends with a melancholy 
complacency, — we cast a long and lingering look 
after them until they are completely shut from 
our view in the grave ; and nothing is more hard 
and heart-rending than to tear our last looks 
from them, it is natural then that the body should 
be placed in such a position as most to favour this 
almost universal desire of the human heart. But 
in burying a skeleton, it would be as natural to 
avert the horrid grin of a death's head from us. 
To face the grinning skeleton of a friend must fill 
us with horror and disgust. 4 Turn away the horrid 
sight,' would be the language of nature. If we 
adopt my supposition, as correct in this case, all 
the facts correspond with nature. But if we 
adopt the opinion of the writer in your paper, our 
opinions are at war with nature, reason, and 
universal observation." 

The following observations by the Rev. J. M 
Peck, of St. Louie, may also here be added. 



^290 

" A communication in the Gazette of the ICth in- 
stant, by " Historicus," accounting in a rational 
manner for the graves on the plantation of Mr. 
Long, has given rise to the following remarks, as 
tending to cast further light on the subject, and in 
part confirm the opinion of the writer: 

Mr. M — — , informed me, that himself, his lady, 
and another, were present at the opening of seve- 
ral graves, after the spot had been visited, and 
the skeletons examined by several physicians of 
St. Louis. One grave was opened which measur- 
ed four feet in length ; this was formed by laying 
a flat stone at the bottom, placing one on each side, 
one at each end, and covering the mouth with an- 
other. In the last circumstance, this grave differed 
from the others that were opened, the contents 
were a full grown skeleton, with the head and teeth, 
part of the spine, the thigh and leg bones, in a tole- 
rable state of preservation The leg bones were 
found parallel with the bones of the thighs, and every 
appearance indicated either that the corpse had 
been entombed, with the legs and thighs placed 
so as to meet, or that a skeleton had been deposi- 
ted in this order. The first opinion seems the 
most probable, from the fact that a large done pipe 
was found in the tomb, and which I under -tand is 
now in the possession of Mr. Long. 

It is a well known fact, that both implements of 
war, and of domestic use, are f-urieci with the 
dead bodies of the Indians, but it admits of a que- 
ry, if they are ever deposited with the mere sk teton. 

" It is a well known fact," says bislu p Madson, 
while writing on the supposed ibrtincations o* the 



291 

Western county*, " that among many of the Indian 
tribes the bones of the diseased, are annually col- 
lected and deposited in one place, the funeral rites 
are then solemnized with the warmest expressions 
of love and friendship, and that this untutored race, 
urged by the feelings of nature, consign to the bosom 
of the earth, along with the remains of their dis- 
eased relatives, food, weapons of war, and often 
those articles they possessed, and most highly 
valued when alive." This fact is substantiated 
from various respectable sources. The pious cus- 
tom of collecting the relics of the dead, which ac- 
cident, or the events of a battle, might have dis- 
persed through the wilderness, easily accounts for 
the graves on the Merrimack, as well as explains 
the origin of the artificial mounds in our vicinity. 
If these were opened, there would be found pro- 
miscuously deposited the bones of the aborigines, 
which pious veneration from year to year, and 
from century to century, industriously collected. 
The cemetery alluded to on the plantation of Mr. 
Long, may be viewed as the public burial place of 
some powerful nation of the same size, and similar 
customs with other Indians. 

No wish is entertained to object to the hypothe- 
sis of " Historicus," in regard to the customs to 
which he alludes. The shortness of the graves 
may be attributed to different causes." 



On the preceding information, it may be obser? 
ved,that however ingenious and forcible the reflec- 

* See American Philosophical Transactions, Vol. vi. 
37 



252 

tions appear, which have been advanced by Mr 
Petti bone, and Mr. Peck, in opposition to the pre- 
valent opinion of the dwarfish origin of the Merri- 
mack bones, their remarks cannot, however, be 
considered as conclusive. Undoubtedly those 
customs, to which allusion has been made, were 
were formerly prevalent among many of the savage 
tribes of North America, and may still be practis- 
ed in the remote and uncultivated regions of the 
west, but it is difficult to bring the mind to the con- 
clusion, that a person arrived at the age of maturi- 
ty, of the common stature of the human race at 
the present day, and whose bones had been inter- 
red several centuries ago, but still preserve their 
relative situation, should measure only four feet in 
length, while the teeth and the bones in several of 
the graves opened in the presence of doctors Wal- 
ker and Grayson, indicated a child arrived at the 
age of eight or nine years, and whose stature could 
not have exceeded twenty-three inches. Where 
is the child of the present day, arrived at eight or 
nine years of age, whose height will not exceed 
this, by at least a foot ? Nor is the circumstance 
of the relative anatomical situation which was ob- 
served to exist among these bones, by any means 
reconcileable with the supposition of the interment 
only of the osseous parts of the body, which would 
probably be thrown together without the exercise 
of that knowledge in anatomy, which is requisite 
in putting joint to joint, and bone to bone, in the 
manner they were created. 

We must therefore hesitate in receiving conclu- 
sions which are not founded on physical observa- 
tion, or drawn from facts too evident to admit of 



203 

contradiction, but on the contrary, there is much co 
favour the opinion that they are the relics of a 
race of beings inferior in stature to ourselves. 
Who they were— whither fled — why created, or de- 
stroyed ? are inquiries which do not admit of be- 
ing satisfactorily answered. Our knowledge of 
the ancient history of the land we inhabit, is very 
little. Afewdetached facts, some traditions and sur- 
mises, drawn rather from the probability of things 
than the discovery of facts, is all we possess. A 
beginning only has been made. Of our antiqui- 
ties we know nothing. Every year is bringing to 
light some fresh relic of ancient use, folly or splen- 
dour, and all tending to show that our country has 
been inhabited by a people conversant with the 
arts, if not the refinements of civilized life. Our 
mounds, tumuli, embankments, and ancient for- 
tifications, are subjects replete with the highest, 
interest, and presenting an ample field for philo- 
sophical speculation and inquiry. Connected 
with this subject are the Merrimack bones, the 
silver cup of Marietta, and the glass beads of Nia- 
gara. But we must wait till additional facts are 
collected and compared, before we can form a con- 
clusive theory. We cannot reason surely from the 
inspection of one detached point; we must view 
our whole country in connexion, not only as regards 
the order of time, but its geographical position, 
its soil and climate, its geological structure, and 
the physical changes it has undergone since the 
creation of man — the cycles of excessive heat, or 
excessive cold, to whose influence it has been 
submitted, in the lapse of centuries, — these and 



294 

other analogous matters, must be considered in 
contemplating its ancient history. But these are 
not the efforts of a day, nor the works of an indivi- 
dual ; time must be consumed, exertions must be 
made, difficulties must be encountered, and preju- 
dices overcome; and the collective energies of a 
Society are necessary to accomplish so desirable 
an end, — to collect, compare, and apply accumu- 
lating facts, — to embody and spread them — to as- 
sist the studious in the pursuit of further know- 
ledge — to point the methods of procedure — and 
finally, to encourage the enterprising, and to re- 
ward the successful. When such efforts are made, 
we shall fcnow more of the history of our land, 
and of ourselves; and the light of antiquity will 
shine upon our neglected mounds and fortifica- 
tions, with a splendour that shall vie with the walla 
of Babylon, and the ruins of Herculaneum. 



INDEX, 



A, 



Page 
.rkansaw territory erected 21 
Asli furnace introduced 19 

.Anthony Crozat 10 

Ancient bounds of Louisiana 11 
Academy of mines suggested 23 
Agriculture, state of 38 

Account of St. Geneveive 45 
Herculaneum 46 





Potosi 


48 




St. Louis 


159,240 




St. iVI ichael 


49 




Franklin 


160 




St. Charles 


ib. 




Carondelet 


239 




Cahokia 


240 




Cape Girard 


eau 227 


Arsenic 




44 


Antimony 




44, 54 



B 



Page 

18 
., 12G 



Amount of lead made at Potosi 49 

Alum Cave 5' 

Animals die of mine sickness 3i 

Austin's Shaft 65,119,127 

A saving suggested 79 

Alloys, fusibility of 74 

Alliot's experiments 86 

Artificial chimney jambs, &c. ib. 

Analysis of basalt 87 

Account of furnaces 94, 98 

Asbesoflead 97 

how washed ib 

Ash furnace B3 

situation for Id.' 

materials of ib. 

how heated 103 

cost of ib. 

Assay of ore 109 

Analysis by Dr. Thompson 110 

Argentiferous lead glance ib. 

Annual produce 1 13 

Aggregate amounts of lead 122 

Agent of mines suggested 132 

A receipt for Enamel 143 

Artificial Gems, how made 148 

Acetite of lead ib 

Antiquities of Missouri 16° 

Ashley's Cave 171 

Axes of stone (antique) 170 

A catalogue of minerals 177 

Argillaceous oxyd of iroa 191 

Antimonial ore 197 

Alum W9 

Agaric mineral 200 

Agatized wood 207 

Alabaster 204 

Agate 215 

Arkansaw Gypsum 211 

vitriol £0: 

salt 207 

loadstone 192 

oilstone 183 

hot springs ib. 

quartz 182 

agate 215 

Account of sawyers 223 

Ancient falls of the Mississippi 229 

American bottom 237 

Advantages of St. Louis 240 

Account of White River 246 

Antique silver cup 276 

glasses 280 

bones 284 

Antiquarian Societ y suggested 294 



18 

28 

32 

29 

36 

47 

50, 232 

51 

54 

30 

61 

65, 128 

65, 127 

65, 126 

65, 127 

56,69, 197 



70 



urto?;, discovery by 

Bryan's mines 20. 65, 75, 

Biographical sketch of M. 

Burton 
Botanical character of mine 

country 
Banks of Mississippi 
Beach grape 
Birds, accaunt of 
Beef and pork exported 
Bois Brula bottom 
Bellevue 
Bates' Lick 
Bilious complaints 
Bull Shoals, antiquities at 
Brushy-run Diggings 
Bibb's Diggings 
Belle Fountaine 
Becquet's Diggings 
Blende 

Blossom of lead 
Black jack 
Barytes 

Blue glazing, spontaneous for- 
mation of 73 
Bottles, remarks on 80 
Basalt, new uses of 82 
Big Hoen River 89 
Burning of lime 102 
Bar and pig lead, amount made 122 



Buttons, manufacture of 
Boundaries and extent 

Missouri 
Black River 
Braves, a military order 
Bone?, where found 
Biown Hematite 
Black oxyd of manganese 
Burning clay, etl'ects of 
Blue vitriol 
Basanite 
Buhrstone 
Burning spring 



of 



149 

153 

165 
175 

169 
192 
199 
202 
21 u 
212 
216 
ib. 



Bottom lands, extensive tract 237 

Banks at St. Louis 241 

Butlaloe Fork 254 

Black River 255 

its tributaries 256 

soil, productions, &c. ib 

Beads of glass 280 

Bourbon lead mines 278 

'?ones, antique 284 

V/apital of Missouri 240 

Crozat, Anthony, grant to 10 

Copper mine 16 
Country granted by Louis XIV. 10 



ompany of the west 
Company «LSt. Phillips 

hronological table 
Character of soil 
Cotton wood 
Climate 



il 
14 
25 
26,27 
29 
33 



Cows and horses, easily raised 34 
Cloth manufacture 35 

Churches 25, 174 

Carolina potatoe 34 

Cultivated fruit trees 42 

Commerce of the mines 
of St. Louis 
Caledonia 
County of St. Genevieve 



?age 

County of Washington 51 

Madison 57 

Jeti'erson 58 

Cook's settlement 51 

Causes of misrepresentation 52 

Chicago 54 

Catalogue of wild fruits 28 

of wild quadrupeds 36 

of exports 43 

of mines t> & 

of manufactures 57 

of steam boats 263 

Citadel Diggings 65, 127 

Cawk 70 

Calcareous spar ib- 

Cannon's mites 66, 127 
Cession of Louisiana by France 25 

Cobalt, conjecture respecting 73 

Chemical experiments 78 

Clay, refractory 76 

Chaptal, information by 82 
Composition oi bottles 83, l>6 
Chimney jambs,&C how formed 86 

Cause ol tiisappointments 91 

Cost of furnaces, 94 103 

Constituents of limestone 102 

Calcination, how effected 103 

Customs among the miners 107 

Cupellation, how pertormed 1 1 1 

Cerusse, manufacture of 13~/ 

Chromate of lead '3' 

Curiosities of Missouri l^ 3 

Character of inhabitants 3 J — 

Changes in society l'i 

Condition of the blacks 17li 

Caves of nitre 170 

Catalogued' minerals 177 

Chalk 179 

Common quartz IKS 

Citrine 184 

Calcareous spar 190 

Cave-in-rock 191 
Common argillaceous oxyd of 

iron 193 

Chalcedony 194 

Copper, native 198 

Carbonate of lead ib. 

Crucible clay, where found 200 

Common jasper 20C 

Carnelian 207 

Common salt ib. 

Calcaieous alabaster 201 

Conglomerate 205 
Cave Creek 201, 20S 

Character of infusible clay 201 

Copper, sulphate of 209 

Coal ib. 

Carburretted hydrogen 21 

Chalk banks 227 

Cape Girardeau ib. 

Cape Garlick 230 

Cape St. Comb 232 
Commercial advantages of 

Herculaneum 237 

Cahokia 240 

Carondelet 239 

Character of St. Louis £40 

Commerce of White River 250 

Cut oil" 25:* 

Commerce of New-Orleans 265 

Colouring ingredient 271 

Cotton 265 

Cup of Marietta £76 



296 



DFaga 
iscovery of mines 16,18,20 
Date of grants 10, 12 17 

JJiit'-.-ulties opposed to mining 22 
Diseases oft he mines 30 

Dyeing plants 23, 30 

Dogs and cats, mines affect 

them 30 

Distilleries 57 

Dubuque's claim 62 

Doggett's mine 66, ll't; 

Discovery of Louisiana 25 

)•'■ "mposert shale, wherefound 76 
it. jnjoi"lc-id, how performed 90 
Divining rod, folly of 92 

Description of furnaces 94, 98 
Disappointments, causes of 91 
Double-eyed furnace, advan- 

t lge of PC 

Disputes, hoy? prevented 107 
Durham ore 1 10 

Dr. Thompson, analysis by ib. 
Deductions 128 

Du'y on imported lead 129 

Dr. Hunter, receipt by 137 

Duelling prevalent 173 

Delaware Indians 176 

Devil's oven 230 

Description of St Louis 240 

fit. Geneveive 23.1 
Herculaneum 23!i 



Page 

74 

1, 100, 146 

13 



Discoverer of lead mines 

Dormant v alls 

T!r ert ol' Louisiana 

Davi Isohville 

D ai i skeletons 



235 
236 

247 
256 



E 



ast India & Chinese Com- 
pany 16 
Emigrations to Louisiana com- 
mence 19 
Extent of the mines 20 
Elevation of country 32 
Epidemics 30 
Epochs, historical 25 
Exports 43,47 
Emery 44 
Explanatory remarks 63 
Elliott's mines 66,75, 126 
Earthquake, effects of 76 
Error corrected 77 
Experiments! 73 
Expense of furnaces 94,103 
Effects of heat on limestone 103 
Estimate 126 
Elias Pates, invention by 139 
Enamels, how made M2 
Employments of the inhabit- 
ants 171 
Emigrants, character of 172 
Effeminacy, where apparent 173 I 
Earthy substances 177 
Earth, yellow 199 
English ores 110 
Earthy oxyd of lead 197 
Emigrants 230 
Extent of internal navigation 242 
Extract from a western paper 269 

JO ailcre of the Mississippi 

scheme 14 

First lead smelted in Louisiana 16 
Facility of raisiug cattle 34 

Farming 38 

Ferries - 42 

Fruit-trees 42 

Flour exported 47 

Foundery, seat for 55 

Fredericktown 49 

Fir^l •ttlrmrnt in Louisiana 25 
Fnurche a Courtoia 66,127 

France cedes Louisiana 25 



Fusible alloy 
Fluxes, remarks on 
Fusibility of basalt 
Folly ol mineral rods 

Furnaces, account of 94.9b 

Fuel, how employed 96 

Fluor spar, where found 101 

Flint glass, remarks on 146 

Flint 1 80 

Ferruginous quartz 135 

Feldspar 191 

Fluate of lime ib. 

Fuller's earth 203 
Franklin steam-boat, how sunk 224 

Falling-iti banks 225 
Falls, ancient, where situated 229 

Fertile tract of land 237 

Forks of White River 252 



G f 



rant to Crozat 10 

to the Company of the 

West 1 1 

of land to Renault 16 17 
Gold and si v?r 9 

General outline of the mine 

estintry 26 

Gypsum 44,211 

Grist mills 57 

General Pike, information by 62 
Granular quartz 50 

Gravelly diggings 65,127 

(nay's mine 66,75, 127 

Gravel ore 69 

Glass-till' 70 

Gold, substance mistaken for 71 
Glass, Hint, remarkson 146 

German crucible clay 76 

Geological character 92, 108, 119 
210, 238 
German ores 110 

General deductions 128 

Gems, artificial, how made 148 
Geographical outline of Mis- 
souri 153 
Gasconade River 163 
Geological phenomenon 170 
Gun Hint 180 
Granular quartz 185 
Galena 195 
Granular sulphuret of lead 196 
Glass-house pots, remarks on 201 
Graphite 209 
Greenstone porphyry 213 
Gas, inHammabie 216 
Grand Tower 229 
Great muddy River ib. 
Geological remark 238 
Government of Missouri, 

seat of 2 lO 

Gov. Clark's museum 241 

Great North Fork of White 

River 254 

Grand Cut Off 253 

Greenupsburgh manganese 269 
Glass-soap, its uses 271 

Gems, natural, where found 265 
Glasses, antique 280 



H 



istoricai, sketchof the 

mines 9 

Horses, facility of raising 34 

Herculaneum 46 

Historical epochs 25 

Hops 44 

Hawkins' Mine 65, 127 

Henry's Digging! 66, ib. 

Height of furnace 95 

Hands engaged in mining 113 

Hunter population 174 
Honours, how obtained a- 

mcDg the Ojages 175 



Pag - 

Hospitality characteristic 172 

Hornstone 181' 

Hoary quartz 189 

Heavy spar 190 

Hematite 192 

Hydrogen gas 216 

Harrisonville 237 

Hot Springs of Washitaw 253 

Hot .Mountain 259 

Hamburgh glasses 280 

J. row pyrites 70,192 

Inflammable gas 216 

Inhabitantsofthe mines 39 

Internal improvements *1 

Indigo 42 

Iron 44 

mountain 54 

mines 57 

Information bylieut. Pike 62 

Indians, mines worked by ib. 

Iceland spar 70 

I Humiliations seen 76 
Ignorance of smelters, where 

apparent 77 
Improvements suggested 79 
Ingredients of glass 80,146 
Inspector of mines 132 
Infusible clay 76 
Information by Chaptal 82 
Ingredients of limestone 102 
Imported lead, duty on 129 
Improvement in casting shot 139 
Illinois River 161 
Indian grave on the Merri- 
mack 169 
Inflammable substances 178 
Indian pipe stone 189 
Iron, native 217 
argillaceous oxyd 193 
micaceous oxyd ib. 
brown oxyd 192 
red oxyd 195 
sand ib. 
Indiana magnesia 212 
buhrstone 216 
Illinois floor spar 101 
opal 205 
lead mines 195 
salt works 207 
coal 211 
copper 198 
gypsum 21] 
antimony 197 
Independence, how celebrated 224 
Indian meal, new property of 234 
Increase of St. Louis 240 
Inhabitants of White River 249 
Information, miscellaneous 258 

J f.fferson county 58 
its mineralogical 

character ib. 

i's mines 59 

its salt works ib. 

sulphur springs ib. 

manufactures ib. 

representation 60 

Jones' shaft 65,119 

J. Scott's Diggings 66 

Junk bottles, materials for 80 

Jasper 206 

common ib. 

striped ib. 

Journal of a voyage 221 

James River 253 

soil and climate ib. 

prairies ib. 

game ib. 

lead Mines 254 

J M. l'egk,observatioDsby 289 



297 



KPage 
ASKASK1A 15,233 

Klingstein 87 

Kanzas 88, 161 

Knowledge of in; nerals, where 



ful 



91 

207 
216 
269 
278 
2U 
233 



Kanhaway salt works 
Kentucky hydrogen gas 

man? anese 

lead mines 

coal mines 
Kaskaskia River 
King's River 
Kentucky paper, extract from 26a 

L-iouis XVI. cedes Louisiana 10 
Laplatte river ib. 

.Lead smelted by Renault 16 

Lebaum's mines 20, 66, 127 

Louisiana becomes a state 21 

Lead mines, history of 9 

Longevity, an instance of 1 8 | 

Latitude of the mines 33 

List of mines worked by Spain 20 



wild fruits 


28 


wild animals 


36 


exports 


43 


mines 


57 


manufactures 


ib. 


Lead made at Potosi 


49 


Lead furnaces in Washington 




county 


57 


Lead mines of Prairie Du Chien K 


Lantte and Bronsheaux 


61 


Lead ore 


67 


Lambert's Diggings 66 


127 


Little mines ibid. 


La Motte ores 


73 


Lava, how fused 


83 


Length of the Yellowstone 


89 


Lead, how dug 


90 


how dressed 


93 


how smelted 


ib. 


duty on 


129 


Log furnace 


94 


Localities of ftuor spar 


10.1 


Limestone 


102 


Lead diggers, how paid 


106 


made at Shibboleth 


113 


shipped from Hereula- 




ueum 


120 


Litharge, manufacture of 


136 


Language of the inhabitants 


171 


Loadstone 


192 


Localities of Galena 


195 


-Lanesboro sand 


188 


Lime, sulphate of 


211 


fluate of 


191 


carbonate of 


190 


Louisiana iron 


217 


Little Chain of Rocks 


226 


Little Rock Ferry 


235 


LeDgthof the Missouri 


242 


Yellowstone 


ib. 


Mississippi 


243 


Illinois 


ib. 


White River 


248 


Louisianian Desert 


247 


Little Red River 


256 


List of steam -boats 


263 


Localities of Manganese 


270 


Lead mines of Millersburg 


278 



M 



Lines of Missouri, history of 9 

Mississippi scheme, failure of 14 

Mine a Burton 18,20,48,65,77,126 

La Motte 16,17,20,65,72,126 

Renault 16, 20 

a Robino 20, 65, 127 

a Martin 20, 65, 80, 127 

Shibboleth 20,65. 116,126 

a Joe 20, 65, 127 

Moses Austin, Esq. explores 

the Mines 19 



Page 
Mine sickness 30 

Manners and morals 39 

Madder 43 

Mineralogical school sugges- 
ted 23 
Manufactures 43, 57 
Manganese 44, 199 
Marble 44 
Madansburgh 49 
Madison county 75 
Murphey's settlement 51 
Mill seats 55 
Mine couutry, outline of 26 
soil of 27 
climate of 33 
diseases of 30 
quadrupeds of 36 
birds of 36 
streams of 3(> 
roads of 42 
tow ns of 45 
religion of 40 
Mines of Prairie Du Chien 62 
Mine Astraddle 65, 126 
Massen's Diggings 65, 127 
Micheaux's Diggings ibid 
Moreau's Diggings ibid 
Mine Liberty 65,126 
Miller's Mine 65 
Mine Silvers 55,126 
McKaue's Mine 65,80,128 
Mineralogical character of 

mines 66 

.Mineral blossom 71 

Mammillary quartz ih. 

Mu-lev clay 6« 

Materia! for bottles 80 

Met hod of working the mines 90 
Mason's wages 94 

Minium, how made 135 

Massicot 13" 

Metallic buttons, alloys for 149 
Missouri wine 158 

Territory 153 

situation, boundaries 

and.extent ib. 

soil, climate, & pro- 
ductions 155 
rivers & mountains 160 
political divisions 158 
population 159 
principal towns ib 
mines and minerals 166 
antiquities and cu- 
riosities 169 
employments and 

manners 171 

language St religion ib 
savages 175 

slavery 176 

mounds 169 

manufactures 172 

Mississippi River 160 

Missouri River 161 

Merrimack River 16l 

Mechanics, where wanted 172 
Metallic substances 178 

Minerals, catalogue of 177 

Missouri topaz 184 

Mica 190 

Magnet 190 

Micaceous oxyd of iron 193 

Madrepore 204 

Muriate of soda £07 

Magnesia, sulphate of 212 

Millstone 216 

Mouth of Ohio 221 

Mockasou Spring 229 

Mississippi water, how clari- 
fied 23-1 
Military posts 244 
Museum at Sc Louis 241 
Miscellaneous information 258 



Page 

Medicinal Spring 25$ 

Marietta cup 276 

Millersburg lead mines 278 

Merrimack hones 284 

aianui Aciure c* -.vhilt lead 1 & 

red lead ib. 

lithai e 136 

massicot 137 

Naples yellow ib. 

chromat of lead ib. 

patent mineral yellow ib. 

shot and bullets 13,', 

penter 139 

sheet lead 140 

solders ib. 

printer's types 141 

pot metal ib- 

potter's glazing ib. 

enamels 142 

Hint glass 146 

artificial gems W3 

sugar of lea i ib. 

metallic buttons .149 

sheet lead boxes ib. 

hts k measures ib. 

tcj 5 and castings lu. 

IM ew Diggings 20, 65, 71, 1:7 

Nitre 44 

New-York canal 41 

antiquities 280 

New-Orleans founded £5 

Nev.-Bourboii 49 

Number of lead mines 57 

lead furnaces ib. 

gn.-t mills ib. 

saw mills ih. 

distilleries ib. 

saltpetre caves ib. 

iron mines ib. 

bands engaged in 

mining 113 

Natural phenomenon 76 

New application of bassalt 82 

Notice of geological structure 92 

New locality of fluor spar 101 

Naples yellow, how made 137 

New invention by E. Bates 139 

Nitre caves 170 

Negroes, their condition 17c 

Novaculite 183 

Native magnet 192 

copper 198 

vitriol 209 

iron 217 

white lead 19y. 

Nitrate of potash 208 

New-York plank 226 

Nocturnal adventure 238 

Navigation contemplated 2<i3 

North '-Vest Territory 244 

Natural canal 25j 



o 



age Indians 175 

Oxyd of iron iy;> 

common argillaceous 193 

micaceous ib. 

brpwn ]gg 

Opalized wood £00 

Opal 205 

Ochre 2U 

Onyx £15 

Ohio clay 20! 

coalmines £11 

saltworks 207 

iron founderies 193 

Olean boards and plauk 226 

Obrazo River 230 

Ocaw River 233 

Old soldier 235 

Outline of St. Louis 248 

Ouarhitta, hot springs of 258 

On the uses of manganese £69 



296 



A" 



Page 
Oxygen gas, hew procured 269 
Observations by Il.Pettibone 

Esq. 286 

Observations by Rev. J. M. 

Peck 289 

Old mines 20, 66, 126 

Pjora 16 

Origin of the western company 10 

Occupation of Louisiana by 

tbe United States 20 

Outline of the mine country 26 

Missouri territory 153 

Oil stone3 44 

Of the different mines.ores.&c. 64 

Ores of lead 67 

zinc 69 

iron 54 

manganese ib. 

Observations on glass bottles 81 

Ores, how raised 90 

how dressed 93 

how smelted ib. 

Orleans founded 25 

Operation of smelting 104 

Oxyd of lead, how formed 1 1 1 

On the uses of lead 134 

Ohio River 161 

Osage River 162 

Xhilip Francis Renault 14 
Present state of the mines 21 
Picturesque scenery 31 

Phenomenon in vegetation 29 
Parakeet 37 

Principal towns 45 

Potosi 48 

Pig and bar lead exported 47 

Patent shot manufactured ib. 

Plumbago 44, 209 

Pumice ib. 88 

Powder-mill 57 

Pike, lieut. information by 62 
Prairie Du Chien 62, 244 

Principal iron mines 57 

Progress of discovery 64 

Perry's Diggings 65, 126 

Paper sand 67 

Psuedo-galena 69 

Pratt's mine 66, 127 

Pyrites mistaken for gold 71 

Phenomenon, natural 76 

Produce of ore 96, 109 

Price of lead 106 

Produce of the mines 113 

Pig & bar lead, amount made 122 
Patent mineral yellow 137 

Pewter, manufacture of 139 

Printer's type, composition of 1 41 
Pot metal ib. 

Potter's glazing ib. 

Pumice 212 

Porphyry 213 

Planters 223 

Prevalent opinion 234 

Picture of St. Louis 240 

Prices of merchandise 250 

Pine River 254 

mistake respecting 255 
Prices of freight 264 

Precious stones of Missouri 265 
Pork ib 

Process for making enamels 143 
Population of Missouri 159 

Prevalence of duelling 173 

Plundering.where honourable 175 
Pipe stone 189 

Pyrites 192 

Plastic white clay 200 

Pittsburgh glass-sand 188 

coal 209 

Pennsylvania iron furnaces 193 



Pa;e 
Puddingstone 205 

Potasn. nitrate of 20U 

Precious opal 205 

Properties of fuller's earth 203 



Q 



_i;adrupeds, list of 26 

Quantity of lead made at Potosi 41 
Quality of Bellerue iron 54 

Quantity of lead made atShib- 

boleth 116 

shipped from Hercu- 
laneum 120 

Q.ualificati9ns requisite for 

an agent 132 

Quartz 71 

common 183 

radiated 184 

yellow ib. 

red ferruginous 185 

granular ib. 

tabular 188 

hoary 189 



R, 



age for adventures 9 

Renault's mines 20, 66, 75, 126 
Retrocession of Louisiana by 

the India company 17 

Religion 40, 171 

Roads 42 

Red chalk 44 

Representatives from St. Ge- 
nevieve co. 51 
Washington co. 67 
Madison 58 

Jefferson 60 

River St. Francis 58 

Rosebury's mine 65, 127 

Rocky diggings ibid 

Rhombic spar 70 

Radiated quartz 71 

Refractory clay 76 

Remarkable phenomenon ib. 
Result of experiments 78 

Remarks on basalts 82 

Rock formations 92, 108 

Refining of lead. Ill 

Rationale of cupellation ib. 

Receipts of lead at Hercula- 

neum 122 

Richwoods 126 

Red lead, manufacture of 135 
Rent of mines 131 

Receipt for Potter's enamel 143 
Remarks on glazing 141 

Rivers and mountains of Mis- 
souri 160 
River Mississippi ib. 
Missouri 161 
Ohio ib. 
Illinois ib. 
Osage 162 
Gasconade 163 
Merrimack 164 
St. Francis 165 
Black ib. 
White 246 
Religious societies 174 
Retrogression of society, an 

instance of ib. 

Robbery, how encouraged 175 
Rock crystal 182 

Radiated quartz 184 

Red ferruginoas quartz 185 

Red oxyd of iron 195 

Reddle 199 

Rock salt, where found 208 

Remarks 218 

Review of St. Louis 240 

Rates of exchange 250 

Remarks on thejuse of man- 
ganese 270 



R«lics of antiquity 276, 280 

R. Pettibone, Esq. observa- 
tions by 286 



s, 



t. Louis 240 
Sketch of the life of Burton 18 

Shot tower erected 19 
Spain acquires possession of 

Louisiana 17 
Streams of mine tract 30 
Savage art in dying 30 
Sensitive brier 29 
Schools 40 
Slavery ib. 
St Genevieve 45 
Salt ib. 
Serpentine ib. 
Soapstone 44, 189 
St Genevieve county 50 
Salt Lick 54 
St. Michael 49 
Salt works 50 
Society at the mines 39 
Seats for water works 55 
Salt pet re caves 57 , 208 
Saw mills 57 
Sacs and Foxes, mines work- 
ed by 62 
Sulphur springs 59 
Steam distillery 57 
Silicioue aand 50 
Stricklin's Diggings 65,128 
Scott's Diggings ib. 127 
Substances accompanying 

the ore 17 

Sulphuret of lead 69 

Situation of mines 65 

Sulphur, effects of 74 

Sublimate of lead 77 

Saving suggested 79 

Steel-grained ore 80 

Slag, uses of ib. 

Signs attended to 91 

Size of furnaces 94 
Smelting of lead 93,97, 104 

Silver in lead 110 

Shot manufactured 125 

Superintendant of mines 131 

his duty ib. 

his qualifications 132 

Stealing, how encouraged 175 

Saline substances 17S 

Steatite 189 

Sulphate of barytes 70,199 

Spar, calcareous ib. 

fluor 191 

Sulphuret of lead 195 

common ib. 

granular 196 

Sulphuret of zinc 197 

Sulphuret of antimony ib. 

Stalactite 204 

Stalagmite ib. 

Striped Jasper 206 

Sulphur 207 

Soda, muriate of ib. 

Saltpetre 20» 

Sulphate of zinc 20!* 

copper ib. 

lime 211 

magnesia 212 
Sibley's account of gypsum 211 

Scenery on the Arkansaw ib. 

Schorl 214 

Shale 215 

Sawyers and snags 223 
Scenery of the Mississippi 227, 
229,230,231 

Situation or ancient falls 229 

Sk«tch of the Merrimack 239 



299 



Page 
singular appearances of the 

country 239 
Situation of St. Louis 24( 
Soil on White River 14' 
Streamsuf White River 25: 
Springs of Washitajw 258 
Steam-boals on the Missis- 
sippi 26 
Stone axes, (antique) 170 
Series of lead receipts 12i 
System of mining suggested 13! 
Shot, how made 138 
Sheet lead, manufacture of UO 
Solder.; ib 
Sugar of lead 14 
Sheet lead hoxes, manufac- 
ture of U9 
Soil & climate of Missouri 155 
Salt River 165 
St. Francis Ri'. er il> 
Saltpetre caves 170 
Society west of theMississippi 172 
Savages of Missouri 17.'. 
Shawauee Indians 17G 
Slavery in. 
Singular facts respecting the 

Osages ib. 

Silver cup 275 

r v 

-L owns of the mine coun- 
try 45 
Tobacco 44,265 
Trees, indiginous 28 
Travellers deceived 48 
Town of St. Louis 240 
St. Genevieve 45 
Franklin 160 
St, Charles ib 
Herculaneum 46 
Potosi 48 
St. Michael 49 
Caladonia ib 
.New-Bourbon ib 
Carondelet 239 
Cahokia 240 
Kaskaskia 150 
Cape Girardeau 
Chariton 160 
Tebault's Diggings 65, 127 
T. Scott's Diggings 65 
'i'apley's Diggings 65,127 
Tiff 70 
Trade, of Herculaneum 47 
Torrefactiou recommended 74 
Yahong River 89 
Tools used in mining 90 
Traits of geology 92, 108, 119, 210 
238 
Theory of cupellation 111 
Total amount of lead annually 

made 122 

Toys,castings,&c how formed 149 
Tribes of Indians in Missouri 175 
tradesmen, w here wanted 172 
Topaz, western Ifto 



Page 

Tabular quartz 188 

Touchstone 21-' 

Tyawapety bottom 225 

Trade of St Louis M0 

Tributaries of the Missouri 242 

Mississippi 21'! 

Topography of White River 246 
Transparency of White River 248 

Trade of White River 250 

Three forks of White River 252 

Tributaries of White River ib. 
Temperature of the Hot 

Springs 2G0 
Trade of tiie Western coun- 
try 26 1 
Taffia -65 

\J nion of the Western & 

India company 16 

United s. territory ceded to 25 

Uses of lead 134 

barytes 70 

quartz 72 

iron pyrites 70 

Unmagnetical pyrites 5.; 

Uses of slag 80 

basalt 82 

United States, lead made by 128 

Uses of manganese 269 

Utica paper, extract from 280 



V. 



iEwof St. Louis 2-10 

Vete pouche ib. 

Vegetable phenomenon 29 

productions 28,34 

View of St. Genevieveco. 50 

Washington co. 51 

Madison co. 57 

JeU'erson co. 58 

Vulgar opinion respecting 

gold 71 

Volcanic products 82,212 

Valley of the Yellowstone 89 
Vitrescent mixtures 80, HO, 186 
Vermont emigrants 235 

Vitriol, native 209 

Virginia buhrstone 21fi 

lead mines 195 

coal mines 21 1 

Voyage up the Mississippi 221 
Views on 'the Mississippi 227, 231 
Vapour, itseH'ects 260 



Wr 



father at the mines 33 

Whiskey exported 47, 265 

Washington county 51 

Water works, seats for 55 

White sand 50 

Wild quadrupeds 36 

fruits 28 

Washington mines, mills, &c. 57 
Wood ashes, composition of 82 
Working the mines, account of 90 
Wages of masons 94 

Wood, how employed % 



Page 
Want of information, effects 

of 93 

Washing of lead ashes 97 
Want of durability in furnaces 103 

Worth of lead ' 10G 

Ware-houses 121 
Whole quantity of lead made 

by United States 128 

White lead, how made 135 
Weights and measures, alloys 

Of 149 
Wine of Missouri 168 
Western rivers, fact respect- 
ing 163 
Winter in Missouri 33 
War Eagle Fork 252 
Waterbolt River ib. 
Washitaw hot springs 258 
its minerals 261 
Warm water, property of ib. 
Western paper, extract from 269 
Wheat 265 
Western antiquities, 280, 281 
Water communications 243 
Want of Mechanics 172 
Western minerals 17'* 
White lead, native 198 
Wood, opalized 200 
agatued 207 
White clay 200 
vitriol 20'J 
Weythe county lead mines 195 
Waters of the Mississippi 23-1 
Watering place 238 
Western capital 240 
White River 246 
its geographical position ib. 
its magnitude 2)7 
its sources sc character 243 
vegetable productions ib. 
its transparency ib. 
soil 249 
inhabitants ib. 
trade 250 
minerals 251 
its tributaries 252 
James River ib. 
Rull'aloe Fork 25-i 
Great North Fork ib. 
Black River 255 
Little Red River 25t) 



Y, 



ellowstoxf. River 83 

Yellow, patent mineral 137 

Naples ib. 

chromic ib. 

Yellow quart,: 184 

earth 1S9 



lAivc 


44 


sulphuret of 


56,69, 197 


sulphate of 


209 


Zane 


105 


Zanesville clay 


201 


coal 


211 



FINIS. 



38 



235 90 







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BINDERY INC. [HI 

-a MAY 90 




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N. MANCHESTER, 
INDIANA 46962 




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